


Taylor-Jade Potter's Life

by babygirl101



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Characters Reading Fanfiction, F/F, F/M, Female Harry, Female Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2013-11-24
Packaged: 2017-12-29 13:20:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 52,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1005915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babygirl101/pseuds/babygirl101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reading about her life!!! set after OOTP. Fem!harry/Hermione. *A Lot of swearing*<br/>Metamorphmagus!Harry, slight insane!Harry/Hermione, Dangerous!Harry/Hermione,ect<br/>Taylor's Bi-sexual and hermione is kind of your Harley quinn when it comes to Tj<br/>*Iv mad some changes check them*</p><p>PLZ READ<br/>* i will be rewriting this better plz read it lol*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Facts about her

Name: **Taylor-Jade Potter**

Nickname: **TJ**

Age at time of story: **16**

DOB: **31/7/1980**

Astrological sign: **Leo**

Eye colour: **Green(Normal), Hot pink(embarrassed), Orange(sick), Green-half/Purple-Half(happy), Bright red(angry), Blue/Grey(sad) bright yellow(exited)**

Build: **Curvy**

Height: **5ft 8in**

Skin colour: **pale**

Hair colour: **White(Normal), Hot pink(embarrassed), Orange(sick), Green-half/Purple-Half(happy), Bright red(angry), Blue/Grey(sad) bright yellow(exited)**

Hair description: **Waist length, Side fringe(right side)**

Style of clothing?: **vest top, skinny jeans or short shorts or a mini skirt, black leather jacket or a purple tight jacket or a black tight hoodie and converse**

Job/occupation: **student/works as an Secrtery for Amilia bones(HLE) During the summer (<http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=104850181>)**

traits- **rebellious, out-going, loves horror, Charismatic, Dangerous(mild), dark(mild), Discreet, Fearless, Fighter, feisty, fierce, Malicious, Naughty, Persuasive, Popular(with the Slytherins and some others), Quick, Quick-tempered, Sly, Smart, Sneaky, Thrifty, Unforgiving(sometimes), Violent, Wicked, Wild, Witty and Flexible**

 **Powers** **-** **Metamorphmagus(can only change hair and eyes)/ Half-Vampire(Only hermione knows as shes one too)**

 **Blood** **-** **Half-blood**

 **Fave colours** **-** **Green and purple**

 **Fave food** **-** **Cheesy pasta**

 **Fave drink** **-** **Red Cola**

 **Fave character from Batman** **-** **Joker(its obvious with the colours shes sooo in love with him)**

 


	2. Intro

_**Bashing- Percy, Molly, Dumbledore,ginny and ron** _

**TJ Potter And the Sorcerer's Stone**

Taylor-Jade Potter(TJ) is a 16yr old girl with long waist length black hair with bright Avada Kedavra green eyes. She was wearing; a black tank top with a neon green and purple skull on, black ripped denim shorts with a belt;black studs with a red belt buckle that said ' _Why So_ _Serious?'_ and was wearing black All Star converse. She had a black choker; emerald and amethyst studs on it and a spiked wrist band and was wearing spiked earings. She was walking back from the black lake trying not to get caught(its about 7pm 25/10/1996) As she was walking she began to feel ligh headed and passed out.

She woke up in a room that looked like the ROR. While she looked around she didn't notice Hermione and Ron come through the doors,

"TJ! There you are- wait! Where are we?"said Ron

"I don't know" she replied

Just then more people stared to come through the doors,

The Weasleys- Arthur, Molly, Twins, Bill, Charlie, Ginny and Percy,

Snape's- Severus,twins-Harley and Cole(17yr daughter and son)

Minerva McGonagall ,

Kingsley Shacklebolt,

Remus Lupin(Harley's Boyfriend),

Sirius Black,

Mad-eye Moody,

Neville ,

Luna, and

Tonks.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" came from most of the room(Snape, Black and TJ mostly) Just then a note appeared along with 7 books.

She read the note out loud;

_Dear Taylor-Jade Potter,_

_You along with the rest of the occupants in the room are to read through these books in order,_

_**TJ P**_ _ **otter** _ _**And the Sorcerer's Stone** _

_**TJ Potter and the Chamber of Secrets** _

_**TJ Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban** _

_**TJ Potter and the Goblet of Fire** _

_**TJ Potter and The Order of The phoenix** _

_**TJ Potter and the Half-Blood Prince** _

_**TJ Potter and the Deathly Hallows** _

_These books will include your thoughts ad feelings, sorry about that._

_Unless you haven't guessed it yet this room works like the ROR, it has everything you need from the time you are all here, kitchen, living room, bedrooms and bathrooms. Outside the room, time has stopped so don't worry about work/school and things like that. Now you will get visits from people who are dead some times but you are doing this so that the future is different and prevent deaths._

_From Hermione and Ron(1998)_

_PS: flip over to find sleeping instructions_

The room was in shock as TJ turned it over to read out who would be sleeping where,

**Double;**

_Remus-Harley_

_Molly-Arthur_

_TJ-Hermione_

**Single;**

_Severus- Kingsley_

_Ginny-Luna_

_Minerva-Tonks_

_Ron-Percy_

_Sirius_

_Bill-Charlie_

_Fred-George_

_Mad-eye_

_Neville-Cole_

When she finished the letter everyone one standing looking at her as if she had 2 heads,

"well looks like we are stuck here, why don't we go through to the living room and talk"she said. Everyone followed her through and sat down( **Sirius/TJ/Hermione/Remus/Harley-couch, Severus/Cole-Couch, Molly/Arthur/Percy/Ron, Minerva/mad-eye/Kingsley, Neville/Luna/Ginny/Tonks, Bill/Charlie/Fred/George** ). There was a large awkward silence until Remus broke it,

"Why don't we start on the books?"

When he got nods from most of the room he picked up the first book and read

" **The Girl Who Lived** " said Remus


	3. The Girl Who Lived

" **The Girl Who Lived** " said Remus

**Mr. And Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.**

"your not welcome" said the twins with murderess looks

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache.**

"Very sexy, I want in there likes" said Ginny while most of the room laughed except the obvious( **i.e Molly,Percy** )

**Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbours. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

The Trio, both sets of Twins and kids looked at each other and laughed at the Name Dudley. Even Sirius and Remus couldn't keep there smilies off their faces.

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"THERES NOTHING WRONG WITH THE POTTERS"shouted Sirius, Remus, the Trio and most of the children(not Percy)

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband**

"my dad was not a good-for-nothing" snarled TJ as her hair changed to red. Hermione(TJ's girlfriend) cimbled into her lap and kissed her much to the shock of everyone.

**were as unDursleyish**

"thats not a word" said Remus, Hermione and Severus

**as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbours would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small daughter, but they had never even seen her. This girl was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"what a nice person?... I don't blame you I wouldn't want my kids near a nice person either they might actually learn manners. I shudder at the thought" said Harley's with a fake disgusted look and everyone burst out laughing

**When Mr. And Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

"BRAT!"shout most of the room

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window. At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. "Little tyke, " chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar - a cat reading a map.**

"MINNIE!" shouted Sirius

"BLACK!" shouted Minerva while kids sniggered

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen - then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive - no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes - the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt - these people were obviously collecting for something... Yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at night-time. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"what a lovely man" said most of the women

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery. He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying. "The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard yes, their daughter, TJ" Mr. Dursley stopped dead.**

"YAYYY"shouted the Weasley Twins and everyone laughed at them

**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialling his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his moustache, thinking... No, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a daughter called Taylor. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his Niece was called Taylor. He'd never even seen the girl. It might have been Tara. Or Tamzin.**

"Tara's not bad.. but Tamzin thats a fucking horrible name!" said TJ

" Taylor-Jade Potter! Language!" shouted Remus while Harley's and Hermione were nodding to what she had said

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her - if he'd had a sister like that...**

"THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY MUM/LILY!" shouted TJ, Snape twins, Sirius, Remus and surprisingly to everyone who didn't know of their friendship; Severus.

**But all the same, those people in cloaks... He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door. "Sorry, " he grunted,**

"OMG he actually apologised!"said most of the kids(not Percy)

**as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passers by stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

"is he stupid or something we could be exposed!" said Harley's and Cole

"everyone is allowed one mistake Harley, Cole" said Minerva with a stern expression

"sorry grandma" they said sheepishly while everyone else watched on amused

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

"they fit!?" Hermione said while people laughed

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination. As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw - and it didn't improve his mood -was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes. "Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**

"definitely Minnie" said Sirius while he put his arm around TJ and she snuggled into her godfather

**Was this normal cat behaviour? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

"cowered" muttered Severus

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!"). Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:"And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern. " The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?" "Well, Ted, " said the weatherman,**

"thats my dad" said Tonks

**"I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early - it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight. "Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters... Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er - Petunia, dear - you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister. "No, " she said sharply. "Why?" "Funny stuff on the news, " Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls... Shooting stars... And there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today... " "So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley. "Well, I just thought... Maybe... It was something to do with... You know... Her crowd. "**

"HER CROWD!" shouted most of the room

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter. " He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their daughter -she'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't she?" "I suppose so, " said Mrs. Dursley stiffly. "What's her name again? Tara, isn't it?" "Taylor-James. Nasty, common name, if you ask me.**

"No it's not you fucking horse!" shouted TJ standing up hair and eyes both red with so much anger that lots of objects in the room were levitating/spinning and glasses were smashing

"I'll fix it" said Hermione as she cast a spell to put her in a straight jacket and put a calming spell on her. TJ slumped back on the couch her hair and eyes back to normal. 10 minutes later the spell wore off.

**""Oh, yes, " said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree. "He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something. Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did... If it got out that they were related to a pair of - well, he didn't think he could bear it. The Dursleys got into bed.**

"my eyes they burn with horrible images" shouted the Weasley twins while Harley, Tonks and Hermione all changed their hair colour to Orange

"EWWWW!" shouted the girls while TJ laughed

**Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind... He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on - he yawned and turned over - it couldn't affect them... How very wrong he was. Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed un-blinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all. A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed. Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.**

"DUMBLEDORE!"shouted most of the kids while Tj looked board  _'fucking old goat. I KNOW that he fucking knew what was happening at the Dursleys. Think he can just save me and il become his fucking pet? I don't fucking think so. il sooner fuck Volders before that happens'_

**This man's name was Albus Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known. "He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it. "Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall. "**

" I told you!" said Sirius hugging TJ to his side

"no-one disagreed with you Padfoot" said Remus pinching the bridge of his nose, as Harley's giggled beside him.

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. "How did you know it was me?" she asked. "My dear Professor, I 've never seen a cat sit so stiffly. ""You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day, " said Professor McGonagall. "All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here. "Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily. "Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right, " she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no - even the Muggles have noticed some thing's going on. It was on their news. " She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls... Shooting stars... Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent - I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense. ""You can't blame them, " said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years. ""I know that, " said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumours. "She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-know-who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?""It certainly seems so, " said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?""A what?""A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of"**

Most people shook their heads at Dumbledore's obsession with sweets

**"No, thank you, " said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone - ""My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense - for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name:Voldemort. " Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was un-sticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who. ' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name. "I know you haven 't, said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know-oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of. ""You flatter me, " said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

"Only because your to noble to use them" said Bill

**"Only because you're too - well - noble to use them. "**

most people laughed while Bill turned the same colour as his hair.

**"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs. "**

"too much information!" said the kids while the three metamorphmagus' changed their hair back to orange again. TJ just sniggered

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the rumours that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer. "What they're saying, " she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters.**

Almost everyone had tears in their eyes and girls snuggled up to the person they were beside(Harley's/Remus, Hermione grabbed Tj's hand, Neville/Luna, Ginny/Tonks and Minerva/Mad-eye) While TJ just sat there with a emotion-less expression. Though her eyes dimmed a little

**The rumour is that Lily and James Potter are - are - that they're - dead. "**

Most people were crying now but TJ wasn't.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped. "Lily and James... I can't believe it... I didn't want to believe it... Oh, Albus... "Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know... I know... " he said heavily. Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's daughter, TJ.**

Sirius clutched TJ closer and tighter to him ' _I wont lose her again'_ he thought. _' he needs this so I will alow it but he's not fucking clutching me the whole fucking time'_

**But - he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little girl. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill TJ Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke - and that's why he's gone. Dumbledore nodded glumly. "It's - it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done... All the people he's killed... He couldn't kill a little girl? It's just astounding... Of all the things to stop him... But how in the name of heaven did TJ survive?"**

"thats what we would like to know too"said Harley's who had a tear-streaked face though has calmed down a bit like everyone else

**"We can only guess, " said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

"he knows" TJ said hair changing to red again

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?""Yes, " said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?""I've come to bring TJ to her aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now. ""You don't mean - you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four.**

"I really wish he listened to you Professor" said TJ. Everyone looked at her thinking what could have been so bad that she would say that

**"Dumbledore - you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son - I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets.**

"nothings changed then" said Harley's trying to cheer everyone up while flashing her hair and eyes different colours as well but she only got some small chuckles

**TJ Potter come and live here!""It's the best place for her, " said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to her when she's older. I've written them a letter. ""A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand her! She'll be famous – a legend - I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as TJ Potter day in the future - there will be books written about TJ - every child in our world will know her name!"**

"I wish they didn't" she said

**"Exactly, " said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any girl's head. Famous before she can walk and talk! Famous for something she won't even remember! Can you see how much better off she'll be, growing up away from all that until she's ready to take it?"Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes - yes, you're right, of course. But how is the girl getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding TJ underneath it. "Hagrid's bringing her. ""You think it - wise - to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"I would trust Hagrid with my life, " said Dumbledore. "I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place, " said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to - what was that?"A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky - and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them. 8If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild - long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets. "Hagrid, " said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?""Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir, " said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got her, sir. "**

"I miss my bike" sighed Sirius,

**"No problems, were there?""No, sir - house was almost destroyed, but I got her out all right before the Muggles started swarmin'around. She fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol. "Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby girl, fast asleep.**

All the women and girl cooed, TJ blushed

**Under a tuft of jet-black hair over her forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning. "Is that where -?" whispered Professor McGonagall. "Yes, " said Dumbledore. "She'll have that scar forever. ""Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?""Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well - give her here, Hagrid - we'd better get this over with. "Dumbledore took TJ in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house. "Could I - could I say good-bye to her, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over TJ and gave her what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

"Hey! I take offence to that!" said Sirius and Hermione(animagus-Husky) and most people laughed but the people who don't know that their Animagus looked confused

"third book" said Sirius, Remus, Harley's and the Trio

**"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!""S-s-sorry, " sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it - Lily an' James dead - an' poor little TJ off ter live with Muggles - ""Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found, " Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid TJ gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside TJ's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. "Well, " said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations. ""Yeah, " said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall - Professor Dumbledore, sir. "Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night. "I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall, " said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply. Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four. "Good luck, TJ, " he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone. A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. TJ Potter rolled over inside her blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside her and she slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing she was famous, not knowing she would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by her cousin Dudley... He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To TJ Potter - the girl who lived!"**

"who wants to read next?" said Remus closing the book

"I will" said Cole

" **The Vanishing Glass"**  said Cole


	4. The Vanishing Glass

" **The Vanishing Glass"**  said Cole

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their Niece on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets - but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another child lived in the house, too.**

"where are you cub?" asked Remus

"wait for it" she said back with tinges of red in her eyes

**Yet TJ Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. Her Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day. "Up! Get up! Now!"TJ woke with a start.**

"what a lovely way to wake up" said Remus

**Her aunt rapped on the door again. "Up!" she screeched. TJ heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. She rolled onto her back, wincing at the pain in her bruised ribs**

"why did you have bruised ribs, pup?" asked Sirius, in return TJ said

"The fucking fat basted hit me with a bat" she said with no emotion

**and tried to remember the dream she had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. She had a funny feeling she'd had the same dream before. Her aunt was back outside the door. "Are you up yet?" she demanded. "Nearly, " said TJ. "Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

"how often did they make you cook?" asked Cole

"everyday" she said

**TJ groaned. "What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

"she said nothing you heartless cow!" said Hermione and Harley both girls hair turning red

**"Nothing, nothing... "Dudley's birthday - how could she have forgotten? TJ got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. She found a pair under her bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them,**

Ron shuddered,"sorry Ron" she said but he just waved her off

**put them on. TJ was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where she slept.**

"WHAT?!"shouted most of the room TJ was trying to keep Sirius clam and Harley was doing the same with Remus, who looked like Moony would jump out any given second. Most of the people were shaking with anger, though Percy seemed confused ' _she lived under the stairs in a CUPBOARD! That can't -right shes just attention seeking'_ he thought

"please continue Cole" TJ said

**When she was dressed she went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to TJ, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise - unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

"that better not be you"growled all the men and boys but Percy

**Dudley's favourite punching bag was TJ,**

More growls were heard around the room, Sirius and Remus were the worst and Arthur not far behind.

**but he couldn't often catch her. TJ didn't look it, but she was very fast. Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but TJ had always been small and skinny for her age.**

"Its ok now though you've got curves and you filled out ok" said Harley,

TJ blushed and her hair turned hot pink

**She looked even smaller and skinnier than she really was because all she had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than she was. TJ had a thin face, knobbly knees,waist length black hair, and bright green eyes. She wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched her on the nose.**

"Thats why I stopped wearing them"

**The only thing TJ liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on her forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. She had had it as long as she could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how she had gotten it. "In the car crash when your parents died, " she had said. "And don't ask questions. "Don't ask questions - that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

"How are you suppose to learn?" asked Minerva and Hermione

"is that why you hold your self back and don't ask questions in class" asked Severus, all he got was a nod

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as TJ was turning over the bacon. "Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting. About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that TJ needed a haircut. TJ must have had more haircuts than the rest of the girls in her class put together, but it made no difference, her hair simply grew that way - all over the place. TJ was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel - TJ often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig. TJ put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell. "Thirty-six, " he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year.**

**""Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy. ""All right, thirty-seven then, " said Dudley, going red in the face. TJ, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down her bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over. Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right''Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty... Thirty... ""Thirty-nine, sweetums, " said Aunt Petunia. "Oh. " Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then. "Uncle Vernon chuckled. "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair. At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while TJ andUncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control air plane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried. "Bad news, Vernon, " she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take her. " She jerked her head in TJ's direction.**

"she has a name"growled most of the men

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but TJ's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, TJ was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. TJ hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made her look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned. "Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at TJ as though she'd planned this. TJ knew she ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when she reminded herself it would-be a whole year before she had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again. "We could phone Marge, " Uncle Vernon suggested. "Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the girl. "The Dursleys often spoke about TJ like this, as though she wasn't there - or rather, as though she was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug. "What about what's-her-name, your friend - Yvonne?""On vacation in Majorca, " snapped Aunt Petunia. "You could just leave me here, " TJ put in hopefully (she'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer). Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

"nothings changed then" said Severus and everyone laughed

**"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled. "I won't blow up the house, " said TJ, but they weren't listening. "I suppose we could take her to the zoo, " said Aunt Petunia slowly, "... And leave her in the car... ""That car's new, she's not sitting in it alone... "Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying - it had been years since he'd really cried -but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted. "Dinky Duddydnms, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him. "I... Don't... Want... Her... T-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "She always sp-spoils everything!" He shot TJ a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. Just then, the doorbell rang - "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically - and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Piers gave TJ a flirtatious wink as he passed her,**

More growls, mostly from Sirius, though Remus was not far behind

**it took all of her power not to gag. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once. Half an hour later, TJ, who couldn't believe her luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in her life. Although much to TJ's displeasure Piers had his hand on her thigh rubbing it gently.**

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HER!" came from Sirius, Remus, Cole, and all the male boys and Weasleys(not Percy).

"Hey Mia? What do ya say after this we carve his face hahahaha!" said TJ laughing her head off with Hermione while everyone else apart for Harley and Cole went pale.

**She knew there was nothing she could do unless she wanted another beating like last time, her ribs were still painful to touch.**

**Her aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with her, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken TJ aside. "I'm warning you, " he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to TJ's, "I'm warning you now, girl - any funny business, anything at all - and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas with a beating every night and no meals. "**

"He didn't ,did he? Asked Sirius

TJ said "yep!" then giggled but stopped when she saw everyone's faces "aww why so serious?" she asked in a deadly whisperer that had almost everyone shaking with fear she then cackled loudly.

**"I'm not going to do anything, " said TJ, "honestly.." But Uncle Vernon didn't believe her. No one ever did. The problem was, strange things often happened around TJ and it was just no good telling the Dursleys she didn't make them happen. Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of TJ coming back from the barbers looking as though she hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut her hair so short she was almost bald except for her bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar. " Dudley had laughed himself silly at TJ, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where she was already laughed at for her baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, she had gotten up to find her hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. she had been given a week in her cupboard for this(along with a black eye), even though she had tried to explain that she couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly. Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force her into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls) - The harder she tried to pull it over her head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit TJ. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to her great relief, TJ wasn't punished. On the other hand, she'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing her as usual when, as much to TJ's surprise as anyone else's, there she was sitting on the chimney. The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from TJ's headmistress telling them TJ had been climbing school buildings. But all she'd tried to do (as she shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of her cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. TJ supposed that the wind must have caught her in mid-jump. But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, her cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room. While she drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, TJ, the council, TJ, the bank, and TJ were just a few of his favourite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles. "... Roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums, " he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

"what's wrong with motorcycles?" asked Sirius and Harley, when no one answered them Cole read on,

" **I had a dream about a motorcycle, " said TJ, remembering suddenly. "It was flying. "Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at TJ, his face like a gigantic beet with a moustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"Dudley and Piers sniggered. "I know they don't, " said TJ. "It was only a dream. "But she wished she hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than her asking questions, it was her talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon - they seemed to think she might get dangerous ideas. It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked TJ what she wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought her a cheap lemon ice pop. It wasn't bad, either, TJ thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond. TJ had the best morning she'd had in a long time. She was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favourite hobby of hitting her. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and TJ was allowed to finish the first. TJ felt, afterwards, that she should have known it was all too good to last. After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can - but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep. Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. "Make it move, " he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. "Do it again, " Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. "This is boring, " Dudley moaned. He shuffled away. TJ moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. She wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself - no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least she got to visit the rest of the house. The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes.**

TJ grinned and her hair changed colour so the two colours split down the middle half green and half purple at the thought of her Common death adder Snake 'Joker'.

**Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with TJ's. It winked. TJ stared. Then she looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too. The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave TJ a look that said quite plainly:"I get that all the time. "I know, " TJ murmured through the glass, though she wasn't sure the snake could hear her. "It must be really annoying. "The snake nodded vigorously. "Where do you come from, anyway?" TJ asked. The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. TJ peered at it. Boa Constrictor, Brazil. "Was it nice there?"The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and TJ read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see - so you've never been to Brazil?"**

"your a Parslemouth." said Sirius

"Yes! And fucking proud!" she shouted and giggled.

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind TJ made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could. "Out of the way, you, " he said, punching TJ in the ribs.**

**'** Growls'

**Caught by surprise, TJ fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened - one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror. TJ sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. As the snake slid swiftly past him, TJ could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come... Thanksss, amigo. "**

everyone was laughing,"what a friendly snake"said Fred through gasps of laughter

 **The keeper of the reptile house was in shock. "But the glass, " he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as TJ had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for TJ at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "TJ was talking to it, weren't you, TJ?" Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on TJ. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go - cupboard - stay - no meals, " before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.** **TJ lay in her dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. She didn't know how long she had been here for but her head was killing her and she was sure her uncle's belt left a few welts on her back.**

Sirius and Remus started growling at the book thinking that Azkaban was too good for him.

**She didn't know what time it was and she couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, she couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

Fred and George shared a grin knowing they had to get TJ pranking with them.

**She'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as she could remember, ever since she'd been a baby and her parents had died in that car crash. She couldn't remember being in the car when her parents had died. Sometimes, when she strained her memory during long hours in her cupboard, she came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on her forehead.**

Everyone paled at that, no one should have to remember that.

**This, she supposed, was the crash, though she couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. She couldn't remember her parents at all.**

Snape started to feel a little guilty over his treatment of TJ over the years.

**Her aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course she was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

Remus swallowed down the recent assault of emotions and chocked out "Sirius and I have plenty of pictures you can have cub." TJ beamed at the thought of seeing more pictures of her parents.

**When she had been younger, TJ had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take her away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were her only family. Yet sometimes she thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know her. Very strange strangers they were, too.**

Snape sneered at the book " _stupid!"_

**A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to her once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking TJ furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at her once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken her hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to of vanished the second TJ tried to get a closer look.**

**At school, TJ had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd TJ Potter in her baggy old clothes, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"Stop fucking looking at me with pity before I carve you all like a turkey on thanks-giving" she said in a whisper that made everyone shake it didn't help that she took out her switch-blade and began to wave it around her face. She was glad to see almost everyone was shaking and sweating. "good she said putting the blade away. Next chapter.


	5. Letters from no one

Cole passed the book to Ginny who wanted to read next.

She cleared her throat and said **"The Letter's From No One..."**

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned TJ her longest-ever punishment. It also earned her a really bad beating. She couldn't walk for days without wincing in pain. By the time she was allowed out of her cupboard again, the summer holidays had started**

"When exactly is Dudley's birthday kid?" a forced calm Kingsley asked

TJ said "April...but it was four years ago! It's not important anymore." Sirius and Remus shook their heads at her causal tone.

**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control air plane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches. TJ was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, and they all liked to try to hurt TJ which made her have to run, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favourite sport: TJ Hunting.**

The men in the room growled at that, they were raised in the homes of "Boys don't hit Girls" obviously Dudley didn't get the memo.

**This was not TJ's favourite game. This was why TJ spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where she could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came she would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in her life, she wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. TJ, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny.**

Tonks looked at the book in confusion, how was that funny?

**"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told TJ. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**

The twins couldn't wait to test more pranks out on the little piggy, he deserved it for hurting their little sister.

**"No, thanks," said TJ. "The poor toilets never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick." Then she ran, before Dudley could work out what she'd said.**

"You needn't run Potter. He doesn't seem the type to understand that kind of remark." Snape said albeit hesitant though as he saw the slight look of crazed in her eyes just like Bellatrix

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving TJ at Mrs. Figg's. Which was surprisingly fine with her. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let TJ watch television and Tried to give her a piece of Chocolate cake that was rather old and had a funny taste so TJ offered to help make cake with her.**

"Feel free to make anything chocolate cub." Smiled Remus

**Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobby sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

"And yet I don't see how that's possible." Hermione remarked

**As she looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudley-kins, he looked so handsome and grown-up. TJ didn't trust herself to speak. She thought two of her ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh. There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when TJ went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. She went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.**

**"What's this?" she asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if she dared to ask a question.**

**"Your new school uniform," she said.**

**TJ looked in the bowl again.**

**"Oh," she said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

Snape shook his head; she was rather funny if only her aunt knew what sarcasm was.

**"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dying some of my old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."**

**TJ seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue.**

**She sat down at the table and tried not to think about how she was going to look on her first day at Stonewall High — like she was wearing some really faded maids outfit minus the apron.**

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from TJ's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table. They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.**

**"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

Fred and Cole said and looked up in alarm "Now don't panic everyone!"

**"Make TJ get it."**

**"Get the mail, TJ."**

Fred and Cole pretended to wipe their forehead of sweat while George and Harley said "See? The world is back to normal."

**"Make Dudley get it."**

**"Poke her with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

**TJ dodged the Smelting stick Dudley had tried to poke her with and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill and— a letter for TJ.**

Everyone brightened at this; this was an important part of every witch/wizards life.

**TJ picked it up and stared at it, her heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in her whole life, had written to her. Who would? She had no friends, no other relatives — she didn't belong to the library, so she'd never even got rude notes**

**asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**

**Miss. T. Potter**

**The Cupboard under the Stairs 4 Privet Drive**

Before anyone could turn on Minerva he said "It's a self-addressing quill. Which I'm certain will be gone when we finish these books."

**Little Whinging**

**Surrey**

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. Turning the envelope over, her hand trembling, TJ saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion,**

Sirius, Remus, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Ron, the twins and even Minerva cheered.

**an eagle,**

Kingsley and Luna cheered for their house.

**a badger,**

Tonks cheered extra loud for her old house.

**and a snake**

Harley, Cole and TJ all cheered loud(TJ's more a Slytherin at heart that a Gryffindor

**surrounding a large letter H.**

**"Hurry up, girl!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

**TJ went back to the kitchen, still staring at her letter. She handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope. Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.**

**"Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…"**

**"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, TJ's got something!" TJ was on the point of unfolding her letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of her hand by Uncle Vernon.**

"HEY!" was the outraged cry of most occupants

**"That's mine!" said TJ, trying to snatch it back.**

**"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge.**

Ron wrinkled his nose at that; he didn't think he would look at porridge the same again.

**"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**

**"Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!"**

"Oh for the love of Merlin! It's a letter you damn idiots" Sirius snarled wrapping an arm around TJ assuring himself she was there and okay.

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that TJ and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.**

**"I want to read that letter," he said loudly.**

**"I want to read it," said TJ furiously, "as it's mine."**

**"Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.**

**TJ didn't move.**

**"I WANT MY LETTER!" she shouted.**

Despite himself Remus let out a chuckle "You have your fathers temper, he wouldn't get mad often but when he did, it wasn't pretty." Everyone that was on the receiving end of James and TJ's temper shuttered.

**"Let me see it!" demanded Dudley.**

**"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon and he took both TJ and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. TJ and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; TJ won because she kicked him in the balls and punched him him the face so hard you herd a crack.**

All the men in the room made a note to never make TJ Potter angry.

**Dudley was laying on the floor groaning in pain as TJ leaned up against the door.**

**"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address — how could they possibly know where she sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"**

**"Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**

Snape sneered "Yes because we have nothing better to do then stalk the likes of you."

**But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want —"**

**TJ could see Uncle Vernon's purple face through the keyhole.**

**"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer… Yes, that's best… we won't do anything…"**

**"But —"**

**"I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took her in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited TJ in her cupboard.**

**"Where's my letter?" said TJ, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?"**

**"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it."**

Sirius growled out through clenched teeth "A mistake? It had her cupboard on it with her name on it!" TJ burst out laughing shocking everyone; she just smiled and had Ginny continue.

**"It was not a mistake," said TJ said angrily, "it had my cupboard on it with my name!"**

Sirius let out a bark like laugh and pulled her into his side "We think alike pup!" Remus shook his head but had a fond smile on his face, happy to see his friend getting back to his old self.

**"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling.**

**He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.**

**"Er — yes, TJ — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting a bit big for it...we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom.**

**"Why?" said TJ.**

Snape gave TJ a look "Why did you question him Potter?" but it wasn't unkind

"I wasn't used to him being nice to me." Replied TJ

**"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."**

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms:**

Tonks started muttering things along the lines of, bastards, arrested, present for Voldemort.

**one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took TJ one trip upstairs to move everything she owned from the cupboard to this room.**

Remus and Sirius made a mental note to spoil her come holidays, birthdays and just because they could.

**She sat down on the bed and stared around her. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't want her in there… I need that room...make her get out...and she has girl cooties."**

**TJ sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday she'd have given anything to be up here. Today she'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. TJ was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing she'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.**

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to TJ, made Dudley go and get it.**

**They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Miss. A. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —'"**

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, TJ right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that TJ had kicked Uncle Vernon In the shin. She knew there would be hell to pay for that one moment of satisfaction.**

"That bastard needs to stop touching my cub before I got there on a full moon." Remus snarled out. TJ gave him a quick hug in hopes of calming down which to the surprise of most it worked.

**After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with TJ's letter clutched in his hand.**

**"Go to your cupboard — I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at TJ. "Dudley — go — just go."**

**TJ walked round and round her new room. Someone knew she had moved out of her cupboard and they seemed to know she hadn't received her first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time she'd make sure they didn't fail. She had a plan.**

Ron and Hermione groaned while TJ laughed at some of her "fool-proof" plans.

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. TJ turned it off quickly and dressed silently. She mustn't wake the Dursleys. She silently went downstairs without turning on any of the lights.**

**She was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. Her heart hammered as she crept across the dark hall toward the front door —**

**"AAAAARRRGH!"**

"What happened? What did you do?" The twins and Ron asked through laughter.

"If you let Ginny read you may find out." TJ smirked at their crestfallen faces.

**TJ leapt into the air; she'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat — something alive!**

"GO TJ!" Ron yelled

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to her horror TJ realized that the big, squashy something had been her uncle's face. Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that TJ didn't do exactly what she'd been trying to do. He shouted at TJ for about half an hour and then told her to go and make a cup of tea. TJ shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time she got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. TJ could see three letters addressed in green ink.**

**"I want —" she began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes.**

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day.**

**He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.**

**"See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up."**

**"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

**"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia; they're not like you and me,"**

"And we thank Merlin for that every day." Sneered Snape. Before Molly could start a lecture Ginny began to read

**said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for TJ. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.**

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

"Such a brave lot they are." Snorted Kingsley

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to TJ found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two-dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.**

**"Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked TJ in amazement.**

"We all wrote to you! Ginny wrote at least two-hundred." Ron informed her.

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.**

**"No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today —"**

Mr. Weasley perked up at that information "Really? No post on Sundays?"

Hermione replied with a small smile "No Mr. Weasley, it's a religious day to us."

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but TJ leapt into the air trying to catch one —**

"Why didn't you pick one off the floor?" Tonks asked kindly

"Unconsciously I was perfecting my seeker skills." TJ laughed

**"Out! OUT!"**

**Uncle Vernon seized TJ around the waist and pushed her into the wall making her skull smack against it very hard. When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.**

**"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"**

"Damn kid, he's walking time bomb, I'm happy you won't be returning there again or there would be serious problems between them and us." Snarled a usually calm Kingsley. Just as Sirius was about to make his usual joke Remus covered his mouth with his hand and had Ginny continue.

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.**

"Good." Snarled Sirius "You deserve it considering all you put my baby-girl through."

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while.**

**"Shake 'em off… shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and TJ shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Though aunt Petunia did insist that she had to put up a dividing sheet. Dudley snored but TJ stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering who could be writing to her and why.**

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**

**"'Scuse me, but is one of you Miss. A. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk." She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

**Miss. T. Potter**

**Room 17**

**Railview Hotel**

**Cokeworth**

**TJ made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked her hand out of the way. The woman stared.**

**"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room.**

"What an idiot! Obviously something isn't right, yet she just walks away!" yelled an outraged Hermione.

**"Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her.**

**Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.**

**"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon.**

"Well Gred, he doesn't appear to be as stupid as he seems does he?"

"Too right you are Forge."

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared. It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled.**

**"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television."**

**Monday. This reminded TJ of something. If it was Monday — and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television — then tomorrow, Tuesday, was TJ's eleventh birthday.**

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TJ!" everyone yelled much to her surprise.

**Of course, her birthdays were never exactly fun — last year; the Dursleys had given her a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. Still, you weren't eleven every day.**

Seeing Hermione about to say something TJ threw a pillow at her "Chill Mio, I didn't mean in it in the literal sense."

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**

**"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"**

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain; there was no television in there.**

**"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**

"You didn't get sick did you dear?" Fretted Mrs. Weasley

TJ rolled her eyes much to Mrs. Weasleys annoyance "No Mrs. Weasley and it was four years ago for the hundredth time, please continue Gin."

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them.**

**"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"**

**It was freezing in the boat. TJ sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house. The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms. Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas.**

**He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up.**

**"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. TJ privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer her up at all. As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and TJ was left to find the softest bit of floor she could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

TJ saw the looks Sirius and Remus were giving the book and she silently wondered how it didn't burst into flames.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. TJ couldn't sleep. She shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, her stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told TJ she'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. She lay and watched her birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.**

**Five minutes to go. TJ heard something creak outside. She hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although she might be warmer if it did.**

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that she'd be able to steal one somehow. Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea? One minute to go and she'd be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty… ten… nine — maybe she'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him**

"DO IT, DO IT, DO IT!" yelled the twins through laughter.

— **three… two… one…**

**BOOM.**

**The whole shack shivered and TJ sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

Ginny set the book down "That was an interesting chapter."

"I'll read next, hopefully next chapter won't be bad." Muttered Hermione.

 **"The Keeper of the Keys,"** Hermione smirked thinking about how Hagrid would handle them, he was very protective of his friends especially TJ.

  


 


	6. The Keeper Of Keys

**BOOM.**

Everyone in the room jumped not expecting Hermione to shout.

**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.**

**"Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands – now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

**"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!"**

**There was a pause. Then —**

**SMASH!**

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor. A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

**"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…"**

Everyone chuckled, only Hagrid could do that and act completely calm.

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

**"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

No one could control their laughter at this point; this chapter was turning out to be better than the other.

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

**"An' here's TJ!" said the giant.**

**TJ looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

**"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes." Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

"That's the first time I ever heard that, it never gets old either." TJ smiled sadly

**"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"**

**"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune,"**

"GO HAGRID!" yelled the pranksters

**said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

**"Anyway — TJ," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."**

"Don't eat it kid! It'll break your teeth." Advised Kingsley

"Trust me TJ it won't hurt his feelings." Commented Tonks

"I think the house elves made it guys because it did taste good." Laughed TJ

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. TJ opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Taylor-Jade written on it in green icing.**

"Why green?" remarked Ron

TJ rolled her eyes, her friend could act so childish at times over the littlest things.

“Maby cause my eyes are green. And now that you mention it it also one of my favourite colours”She grinned with a dazed look in her eyes

**TJ looked up at the giant and said, "Thank you, but I don't really know who you are.**

**The giant chuckled**.

**True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."**

**He held out an enormous hand and shook TJ's whole arm.**

**"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

Mrs. Weasley frowned at that "He shouldn't be drinking it front of a child."

"Well if you look at me now, you'll see I've turned out fine from such a traumatic experience." TJ remarked, the cackled loudly. Everyone laughed except Molly, even Snape had to admit the girl could be funny when it wasn't directed at him.

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and TJ felt the warmth wash over her as though she'd sunk into a hot bath.**

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

**"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."**

"GO HAGRID!" Yelled the twins

**He passed the sausages to TJ, who was so hungry, she had never tasted anything so wonderful, but she still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, she said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

**"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course.**

**"Er — no," said TJ.**

**Hagrid looked shocked.**

**"Sorry," TJ said quickly.**

Minerva shook his head sadly "You have nothing to be sorry for TJ."

**"Sorry?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"**

**"All what?" asked TJ.**

"That's going to piss Hagrid off!" Remus said gleefully

**"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered.**

**"Now wait jus' one second!"**

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

**"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this girl — this girl! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?"**

Tonks snorted, poor Hagrid is going to make TJ feel like an idiot.

**TJ thought this was going a bit far. She had been to school, after all, and her marks weren't bad.**

**"OI, listen bub" she said narrowing her eyes. "I can, you know, do math and science really well."**

**“Taylor-Jade Potter! How dare you speak to an adult like that!” shout Molly**

**“Il talk to whoever I like, however I like and you can do FUCK ALL ABOUT IT!” she starter calm and and louder and started advancing on Molly with her switch-blade drawn until Sirius picked her up and trapped her between him and Remus. It took a while but she calmed down. Molly on the other hand was still pale, shaking and sweating, much to the pleasure of TJ.**

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world."**

**"What world?"**

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

**"DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at TJ. "But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous."**

**"What? My — my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"**

**"Yeh don' know… yeh don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

**"Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally.**

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

**"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the girl anything!"**

Sirius snorted at that, he would have loved to of seen someone like him stop Hagrid.

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

**"You never told her? Never told her what was in the letter Minerva left fer her? I was there! I saw Minerva leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from her all these years?"**

**"Kept what from me?" said TJ eagerly.**

**"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.**

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

**"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "TJ — yer a witch."**

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

**"I'm a what?" gasped TJ.**

"I said the same thing TJ, don't feel bad." Smiled Hermione.

**"A witch, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good 'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**

"YES! Get the letter and take my kid out of there." Snarled Sirius, these Muggles were working on his last nerve.

**TJ stretched out her hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. A. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. She pulled out the letter and read:**

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: ALBUS Minerva**

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**

**Dear Miss. Potter,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**

**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Minerva McGonagall,**

**Deputy Headmistress**

**Questions exploded inside TJ's head like fireworks and she couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes she stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"**

"That was your first question? Of all things to ask." Ron smirked at his friend

"It was the last thing I read smart ass." TJ snarked back. Hermione could see Mrs. Weasley about to remark so she continued with a smile

**"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl — a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that TJ could read upside down:**

**Dear Professor Minerva,**

**Given TJ her letter.**

**Taking her to buy her things tomorrow.**

**Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.**

**Hagrid**

Kingsley looked impressed at that, not many could read his handwriting right side up let alone upside down.

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

**TJ realized her mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

**"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

**"She's not going," he said.**

Snape snorted "I'd like to see him stop her."

**Hagrid grunted.**

**"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop her," he said.**

**"A what?" said TJ, interested.**

**"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call no magic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

**"We swore when we took her in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of her! Witch indeed!"**

**"You knew?" said TJ. "You knew I'm a — a Witch?"**

**"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was?**

Sirius, Remus and Snape looked murderous at that. How anyone could insult the dead let alone someone like Lilly was beyond them.

**Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that school — and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

TJ leaned closer into Sirius, it was hard to hear those things being said about your parents.

**"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as —abnormal — and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

"That bastard!" snarled Remus and they could actually see a shadow of the wolf.

**TJ had gone very white. As soon as she found her voice she said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"**

**"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! TJ Potter not knowin' her own story when every kid in our world knows her name!"**

TJ grimaced at that, she hated her fame more than anything. Snape took in her look...maybe she didn't like her fame.

**"But why? What happened?" TJ asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

**"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Minerva told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, TJ, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

**"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it…"**

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with — with a person called — but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows —"**

**"Who?"**

**"Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

**"Why not?"**

**"Gulpin' gargoyles, TJ, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…"**

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

**"Could you write it down?" TJ suggested.**

**"Nah — can't spell it. All right —Voldemort. "**

Everyone looked shocked and happy Hagrid said it. Sirius smiled proudly at TJ, she really was amazing.

**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, TJ. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Minerva's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.**

**"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before… probably knew they were too close ter Minerva ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.**

**"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em… maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' — an' —"**

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

Everyone but TJ and Snape were crying, but that was because neither had the strength to cry.

**"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad — knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find — anywa…**

**"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing — he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it.**

**Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even — but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, TJ.**

TJ looked furious at that. "How could anyone think I would want to be famous over that? I lost my parents to some psycho bastard and I lived, big whoop." She snarled out looking at Snape the whole time. She decided to amuse herself with her blade so she flicked it open and started to carve some wood she asked the room for to let off some steam.

**No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts**

— **an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."**

**Something very painful was going on in TJs mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, she saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than she had ever remembered it before — and she remembered something else, for the first time in her life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

Snape shuttered and TJ grinned at that, that was not something you ever wanted to hear or In TJ's case she loved that sound ' _Just like the Joker's laugh'_ she thought with a faraway look in her eyes and a smile on her face.

**Hagrid was watching her sadly.**

**"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Minerva's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot…."**

**"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. TJ jumped; she had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

**"Now, you listen here, girl," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured**

"You would know, you tried!" yelled Tonks

— **and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion**

— **asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -"**

The mood in the room was going from bad to worse in a hurry, Hermione just wanted to finish this chapter before someone tried to kill them even though they deserved it.

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley — I'm warning you — one more word…"**

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

**"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

**TJ, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**

**"But what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know-Who?"**

**"Good question, TJ. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see… he was gettin' more an' more powerful — why'd he go?**

**"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die.**

**Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.**

**"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, TJ. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on — I dunno what it was, no one does — but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

TJ smiled at that "Nope it was my mom and her love for me."

**Hagrid looked at TJ with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but TJ, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake.**

"I can't imagine you not being a witch, Hogwarts wouldn't be the same." The twins smiled

**A witch? Her? How could she possibly be? She'd spent her life being tormented by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and beaten by Uncle Vernon; if she was really a witch, why hadn't they been shocked or something every time they'd tried to lock her in her cupboard? If she'd defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley and Uncle Vernon had always been able to kick her around?**

"It doesn't work like that kid, I wish it did but sadly it doesn't." Remarked Kingsley with Tonks nodding her head next to him in agreement.

“Its ok I don't need magic to harm others, right Mione.”she said with a Dangerous look in her eye.

“yep!” Hermione said laughing almost as loud TJ's cackling

**"Hagrid," she said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a witch."**

**To her surprise, Hagrid chuckled.**

**"Not a witch, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"**

**TJ looked into the fire. Now she came to think about it… every odd thing that had ever made her aunt and uncle furious with her had happened when she, TJ, had been upset or angry… chased by Dudley's gang, she had somehow found herself out of their reach… dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, she'd managed to make it grow back… and the very last time Dudley had hit her, hadn't she got her revenge, without even realizing she was doing it? Hadn't she set a boa constrictor on him?**

"It was bloody brilliant too pup!" laughed out Sirius

**TJ looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at her.**

**"See?" said Hagrid. "TJ Potter, not a witch — you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

**"Haven't I told you she's not going?" he hissed. "She's going to Stonewall High and she'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and she needs all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —"**

**"If she wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop her," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's daughter goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. Her name's been down ever since she was born.**

**She's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and she won't know herself. She'll be with youngsters of her own sort, fer a change, an' she'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled—"**

**"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

Everyone froze, no one made fun of Dumbledore in front of Hagrid, that was a dumb dumb move.

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER —" he thundered, "— INSULT — ALBUS — Minerva — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!" He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, TJ saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

Not a single person in the room wasn't laughing, good man Hagrid.

**There wasn't one person who wasn't laughing in the room now and it took 5 minutes for everyone to calm down and continue to read. Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

**"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**

"Brilliant!" the twins yelled, they needed to talk to Hagrid about ideas.

**He cast a sideways look at TJ under his bushy eyebrows.**

**"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff — one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job."**

**"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked TJ.**

**"Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Minerva let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Minerva."**

**"Why were you expelled?"**

"Taylor-Jade Potter !" Molly scolded "That was very rude! You shouldn't ask such a personal question!" Then she rounded on Sirius and Remus "And you two! You should be reprimanding her instead of egging her on! What kind of guardians are you?"

Before either could react TJ turned to Mrs. Weasley with a cold hatred in her eyes that was rarely seen, "I don't like being called by that name, and I prefer TJ. This was over four years ago like I've been saying but you can't seem to understand what I'm saying. I apologized to Hagrid afterwords but you wouldn't know that by jumping down my throat. Now as far as guardians go, my parents named Sirius my godfather and Remus is like my uncle. You're a great person Mrs. Weasley and I love your family, but no matter how hard you try you'll never be my family. Sirius and Remus are, they're the ones I'd die for, go to hell and back for. I don't appreciate you coming into my dad's home insulting the way he parents me, that is rude and uncalled for. If anyone is going to scold me for past actions it should be them." She didn't raise her voice or move an inch but the magic radiating off her at that moment would have had Voldemort shaking in his boots. Sirius and Remus smiled down at her and hugged her to them knowing she needed to know that they didn't mind her telling Molly off. Mrs. Weasley had gone very red and as she was about to open her mouth Hermione started reading very fast.

" **I'm sorry! That was rude of me." TJ said hoping that she hadn't offended the kind giant.**

TJ had a smug smirk on her face while Mrs. Weasley was muttering under her breath to Arthur who looked torn between siding with his wife and TJ.

**Hagrid gave her a small smile and then said "It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."**

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to TJ.**

**"You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' doormice in one o' the pockets."**

Hermione set the book down looking relieved that it was over, "Who would like to read next?" she asked in a small voice.

Sirius who still had an arm around TJ looked at the upcoming chapter and smiled "I will!" he exclaimed, Diagon Alley was always amazing your first time he only wished he could have been with her.

" **Diagon Alley..."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I kept the dialogue kind of short in this one just because of all the talk about Voldemort and her parents being killed.


	7. Break 1

_**11pm** _

“Bed time!”said Minerva

“OK NIGHT GUYS!”shouted TJ before running to her room dragging Hermione with her. When she came to her door she walked in and gasped at the inside; The walls were purple and the carpet was green. She had a desk, a king sized bed with Joker bed covers. A wardrobe and dresser(with a mirror). There were some posters of the Joker around her room and one big poster cut into the shape of a heart and framed with purple and green painted wood and surrounded by sparkly blood read stars. She started at her room before going to her closest and getting some Pjs. They wore[ http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_12/set?id=104914225](http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_12/set?id=104914225).  She put her knife under her pillow and her wand on her bed side table. She got into bed beside Mia and wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her closer.

_**3Am** _

TJ woke to the sound of footsteps. It sound like 2 people were up and coming down the hallway. Just in case she grabbed a tight hold of her knife and pretended to sleep. A few minuets later the footsteps stopped outside her door. The door opened just a little and they both came through. She sat up and they couldn't see her cause it was so dark.

“May I Help you” she whispered but knew bloody well they herd her. The 2 gasped and spun around. She flicked on the light and there stood Sirius and Remus.

“what is it its after 3am!” she whispered/yelled

“we wanted to talk to you about the Dursleys.” said Remus

“fine come sit down all though don't expect me to cry or anything im going to blunt as hell ok”

“ok”said Sirius

“ now heres a list and what age I was are you ready?Good;

**age-3-5**

  * Made me clean/cook

  * made me garden

  * they started beating me

  * got burned on the stove cause *Il mio buco del culo di uno zio* pushed me on to it

**age-5-9**

  *  mio zio raped me on my 5th b/day and has done ever since.

Happy?" she asked "good night them close the door on your way out"

"hold on!" said Remus "how can you say he raped you and feel no emtion?"

"its happend so many times that im used to it" she shurgged her shoulders "now get out before i gut you both!"

after Remus and Sirius left she fell back onto her pillow,

"TJ? What wrong?" asked Mia

"Nothing baby go back to sleep" she said as she kissed her and spooned her agian falling back asleep

but not before thiking she could of siad it a little bit nicer but she haddn't thought that way in years.

_**10am**_

_**  
**_She woke up to the smell and pancakes. She took a quick shower and she wore<http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_14/set?id=104916076> and had her hair purple. Hermione came out after her shower and wore <http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_13/set?id=104915436>

They walked down stairs holding hands and ate their breakfast before walking and picking up the book. Once everyone was seated she  passed it to Siirus who started 

" **Diagon Alley"**




**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Il mio buco del culo di uno zio= My asshole of an uncle(Italian)  
> mio zio= my uncle(italian)


	8. Diagon Alley

 

 **"Diagon Alley,"** a smiling Sirius read

 

 **TJ woke early the next morning. Although she could tell it was daylight, she kept her eyes shut tight.** **_It was a dream, she told herself firmly. I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for witches and wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard._ **

 

"You can be such a pessimist at times." Hermione shook her head

 

TJ raised an eyebrow at that "I know at I should be such an optimistic with all the good things that have happened to me in my life."

 

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.**

 

**And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, TJ thought, her heart sinking.**

 

**But she still didn't open her eyes. It had been such a good dream.**

 

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

 

**"All right," TJ mumbled, "I'm getting up bloody hell, stupid bitch."**

 

**She sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.**

 

**TJ scrambled to her feet, so happy she felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside her. She went straight to the window and jerked it open.**

 

**The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.**

 

**"Don't do that."**

 

**TJ tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at her and carried on savaging the coat.**

 

**"Hagrid!" said TJ loudly. "There's an owl —"**

 

**"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.**

 

"She won't know what that means Hagrid." Molly shook her head disapprovingly, of all the people to help TJ, they chose Hagrid.

 

**"What?"**

 

**"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."**

 

**Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets — bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags… finally, TJ pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.**

 

**"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.**

 

"Now really" Snapped Molly "She has no idea what they are!"

 

"He was getting her used to currency Molly. He wasn't being rude or whatever you think!" Yelled Tonks

 

**"Knuts?"**

 

**"The little bronze ones."**

 

**TJ counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out her leg so TJ could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.**

 

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.**

 

**"Best be off, TJ, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."**

 

**TJ was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. She had just thought of something that made her feel as though the happy balloon inside her had got a puncture.**

 

**"Um — Hagrid?"**

 

**"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.**

 

**"I haven't got any money — and you heard Uncle Vernon last night… he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."**

 

**"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"**

 

**"But if their house was destroyed —"**

 

Mr. Weasley turned to TJ "Do all muggles keep money in their homes?"

 

"Most do but some only keep credit cards which is electronic money" Seeing the confused yet excited look on Mr. Weasleys face TJ continued "I'll explain more later, promise."

 

**"They didn' keep their gold in the house, girl! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold — an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."**

 

**"Wizards and Witches have banks?"**

 

Ron shook his head "Of course we have banks."

 

"Thanks Ron, I had no idea." TJ smirked

 

**"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."**

 

**TJ dropped the bit of sausage she was holding.**

 

**"Goblins?"**

 

**"Yeah — so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, TJ.**

 

"I have a feeling TJ, Ms. Granger and young Mr. Weasley will rob the bank at some point." Chuckled Minerva

 

"We second that!" the both sets of twins agreed

 

Sirius and Remus shook their heads at seeing the smiles on the Golden Trios faces, it was possible with them.

 

“Awe I want to rob one now! Just like Mista J!” said TJ with a grin

 

**Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe — 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Minerva. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you — gettin' things from Gringotts — knows he can trust me, see."**

 

**"Got everythin'? Come on, then." TJ followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.**

 

**"How did you get here?" TJ asked, looking around for another boat.**

 

**"Flew," said Hagrid.**

 

 **"** **_Flew_ ** **?"**

 

**"Yeah — but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."**

 

**They settled down in the boat, TJ still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.**

 

"So am I." giggled Ginny

 

**"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving TJ another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter — er — speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"**

 

**"Of course not," said TJ, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.**

 

**"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" TJ asked.**

 

**"Spells — enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way — Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."**

 

Kingsley looked thoughtful for a moment "Didn't someone try to rob Gringotts a few years back?"

 

TJ snorted along with Hermione and Ron "Yeah by an idiot."

 

**TJ sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. TJ had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, she'd never had so many questions in her life.**

 

**"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.**

 

**"There's a Ministry of Magic?" TJ asked, before she could stop herself.**

 

**"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Minerva fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Minerva with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."**

 

Sirius let out a low growl at that, they were and still are a bunch of idiots.

 

**"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"**

 

**"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

 

**"Why?"**

 

**"Why? Blimey, TJ, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."**

 

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.**

 

**Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. TJ couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, TJ? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"**

 

**"Hagrid," said TJ, panting a bit as she ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"**

 

**"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."**

 

Molly shuddered at the thought of him getting a dragon, while the golden trio held in their laughter thinking of Norbert.

 

**"You'd like one?"**

 

**"Wanted one ever since I was a kid — here we go."**

 

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to TJ so she could buy their tickets.**

 

**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.**

 

**"Still got yer letter, TJ?" he asked as he counted stitches.**

 

**TJ took the parchment envelope out of her pocket.**

 

**"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."**

 

**TJ unfolded a second piece of paper she hadn't noticed the night before, and read:**

 

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

 

**UNIFORM**

 

**First-year students will require:**

 

**1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)**

 

**2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**

 

**3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)**

 

**4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)**

 

**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags**

 

**COURSE BOOKS**

 

**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**

 

**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk**

 

**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**

 

**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling**

 

**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch**

 

**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore**

 

**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger**

 

**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**

 

**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**

 

**OTHER EQUIPMENT**

 

**1 wand**

 

**1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)**

 

**1 set of glass or crystal phials**

 

**1 telescope set**

 

**1 brass scales**

 

**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**

 

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**

 

"You really need to change that rule" Remarked Sirius "It's a horrible rule Minnie." Minerva just chuckled

 

**"Can we buy all this in London?" TJ wondered aloud.**

 

**"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.**

 

**TJ had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.**

 

**"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.**

 

**"Hagrid," Everyone groaned rolling their eyes.**

 

**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all TJ had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold**

 

**spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?**

 

**If TJ hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, she might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told her so far was unbelievable, TJ couldn't help trusting him.**

 

**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."**

 

**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, TJ wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, TJ had the most peculiar feeling that only she and Hagrid could see it.**

 

"Well you see-" began the twins but quickly stopped talking from one look of TJ's face.

 

**Before she could mention this, Hagrid had steered her inside.**

 

**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"**

 

**"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on TJ's shoulder and making TJ's knees buckle.**

 

**"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at TJ, "is this — can this be —?"**

 

**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.**

 

No one could imagine the Leaky Cauldron silent, it just wasn't heard of.

 

**"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Taylor-Jade Potter… what an honour."**

 

**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward TJ and seized her hand, tears in his eyes.**

 

**"Welcome back, Miss. Potter, welcome back."**

 

**TJ didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at her. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.**

 

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, TJ found herself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

 

**"So proud, Miss. Potter, I'm just so proud."**

 

**"Always wanted to shake your hand — I'm all of a flutter."**

 

**"Delighted, Miss. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."**

 

**"I've seen you before!" said TJ, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."**

 

Snape sneered at that, of course Potter would remember that, she soaked up her fame...didn't she?

 

“What are you sneering at you overgrown fucking bat!” said TJ

 

“How are you talk to me like that!” said Snape

 

“You know Snapey-poo, I think your too serious” she said getting up and walking towards him. She flicked her knife open and brought it to his face” Lets put a smile on the face.” she put the knife in his mouth but was yanked away by Hermione and forced to sit tied to a chair while she grinned at Snape with malicious in her eyes. Snape who looked emotion less was shaking on the inside.

 

**"She remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? She remembers me!" TJ shook hands again and again — Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.**

 

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.**

 

**"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "TJ, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."**

 

**"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping TJ's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you."**

 

"Stupid, arrogant, bastard needs to burn in hell." Muttered TJ, Remus looked at her in alarm, she didn't usually sound so dark and cold when talking about people.

 

**"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"**

 

**"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it.**

 

**"N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?"**

 

"Of course she needs it! She's only a young child." Molly growled.

 

TJ snorted at that "Mrs. Weasley, he was a horrible teacher and you'll see why at the end of the book so stop looking at me with that frown." Mrs. Weasley promptly turned away still fuming at TJ's manners towards her.

 

**He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.**

 

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep TJ to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.**

 

**"Must get on — lots ter buy. Come on, TJ."**

 

**Doris Crockford shook TJ's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.**

 

**Hagrid grinned at TJ.**

 

**"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh — mind you, he's usually tremblin'."**

 

**"Is he always that nervous?"**

 

The golden trio and Snape scowled, he was a good actor that's for sure.

 

**"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience… They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag — never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject — now, where's me umbrella?"**

 

**Vampires? Hags? TJ's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.**

 

**"Three up… two across…" he muttered. "Right, stand back, TJ."**

 

**He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.**

 

**The brick he had touched quivered — it wriggled — in the middle, a small hole appeared — it grew wider and wider — a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.**

 

**"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."**

 

**He grinned at TJ's amazement. They stepped through the archway. TJ looked quickly over her shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.**

 

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons — All Sizes — Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver — Self-Stirring — Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.**

 

**"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."**

 

**TJ wished she had about eight more eyes.**

 

Everyone smiled at that, no matter how many times they went into Diagon Alley it still took their breath away.

 

**She turned her head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad…"**

 

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about TJ's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," TJ heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand — fastest ever —"**

 

TJ smiled sadly at the mention of her old broom, it was a faithful broom if nothing else.

 

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments TJ had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon…**

 

**"Gringotts," said Hagrid.**

 

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was —**

 

**"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than TJ.**

 

"At least you're taller than them." Snorted Tonks, TJ rolled her eyes at the funny Auror, she liked Tonks a lot and held TJ's respect which wasn't easy to gain.

 

**He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, TJ noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:**

 

**Enter, stranger, but take heed**

 

**Of what awaits the sin of greed,**

 

**For those who take, but do not earn,**

 

**Must pay most dearly in their turn.**

 

**So if you seek beneath our floors**

 

**A treasure that was never yours,**

 

**Thief, you have been warned, beware**

 

**Of finding more than treasure there.**

 

**"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**

 

"He's just giving me the challenge now." Laughed TJ

 

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and TJ made for the counter.**

 

**"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Miss. Taylor-Jade Potter's safe."**

 

**"You have her key, sir?"**

 

**"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers.**

 

"I don't think the goblin will like that" Snorted Ron " Bill told me they're very neat and don't like people messing with their things."

 

**The goblin wrinkled his nose. TJ watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.**

 

**"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.**

 

**The goblin looked at it closely.**

 

**"That seems to be in order."**

 

**"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Minerva," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**

 

The room snorted at that, you should never say something like that in front of a curious kid, let alone the child of Lily and James.

 

**The goblin read the letter carefully.**

 

**"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"**

 

**Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and TJ followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.**

 

**"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" TJ asked.**

 

**"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Minerva's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**

 

**Griphook held the door open for them. TJ, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in — Hagrid with some difficulty — and were off.**

 

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. TJ tried to remember, 'left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible.**

 

"Damn kid, you've got a good memory. Ever think of being an Auror?" Remarked Kingsley.

 

Tonks nodded her head in agreement "You would be great TJ, think about it yeah?" TJ nodded but she wasn't sure if being an Auror was right for her especially after this war.

 

**The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.**

 

**TJ's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but she kept them wide open. Once, she thought she saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late**

 

— **they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.**

 

**"I never know," TJ called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

 

"Baby, I know now." Hermione had the decency to look sheepish.

 

**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."**

 

**He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.**

 

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, TJ gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.**

 

"That's just vault for school cub, you have another couple of vaults. Don't look so shocked, The Potters are one of the oldest blood lines in the Wizarding world." Remus said. TJ couldn't help but notice the quick look of jealousy that passed in Ron's eyes.

 

**"All yours," smiled Hagrid.**

 

**All TJ's — it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much TJ cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to her, buried deep under London. Hagrid helped TJ pile some of it into a bag.**

 

**"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"**

 

**"One speed only," said Griphook.**

 

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and TJ leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled her back by the scruff of her neck.**

 

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.**

 

**"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.**

 

**"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.**

 

**"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" TJ asked.**

 

**"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.**

 

The Twins laughed "They are such a cheerful lot! I can see why Bill likes to work for them."

 

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, TJ was sure, and she leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least — but at first she thought it was empty. Then she noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor.**

 

"WHAT IS IT?" exclaimed the twins excitedly.

 

Mrs. Weasley frowned "None of your business, that's for sure."

 

"It's the philosopher's stone." Said Sirius "It's the title of the book pup, that's how I figured it out." TJ looked a little relieved at that.

 

**Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. TJ longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.**

 

**"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.**

 

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. TJ didn't know where to run first now that she had a bag full of money. She didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that she was holding more money than she'd had in her whole life — more money than even Dudley had ever had.**

 

**"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, TJ, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so TJ entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.**

 

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.**

 

**"Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when TJ started to speak. "Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."**

 

"Did you become friends?" Sirius asked

 

TJ snorted "No, I don't usually become friends with ferrets." Everyone who was there fourth year laughed while the others looked confused.

 

**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood TJ on a stool next to her slipped a long robe over her head, and began to pin it to the right length.**

 

**"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"**

 

**"Yes," said TJ.**

 

**"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy.**

 

**He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."**

 

**TJ was strongly reminded of Dudley.**

 

**"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.**

 

**"No," said TJ.**

 

**"Play Quidditch at all?"**

 

**"No," TJ said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

 

"The greatest sport ever!" remarked all the quidditch fans

 

**"I do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"**

 

**"No," said TJ, feeling more stupid by the minute.**

 

**"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"**

 

Tonks went red from anger at that, she was very proud of her old house and when people insulted it she was usually the first to defend them.

 

**"Mmm," said TJ, wishing she could say something a bit more interesting.**

 

**"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at TJ and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.**

 

**"That's Hagrid," said TJ, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."**

 

**"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

 

**"He's the gamekeeper," said TJ. She was wanting to rip the boys head off more and more every second.**

 

**"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage — lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."**

 

**"I think he's brilliant," said TJ coldly.**

 

**"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"**

 

**"They're dead," said TJ shortly. She didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.**

 

**"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all.**

 

Snape looked rather green at this, from what his godson had told him TJ was the one who was acting arrogant.

 

**"But they were our kind, weren't they?"**

 

**"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."**

 

**"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"**

 

**But before TJ could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and TJ, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.**

 

**"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.**

 

"Wished we hadn't." snorted Ron

 

**TJ was rather quiet as she ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought her (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).**

 

**"What's up?" said Hagrid.**

 

**"Nothing," TJ lied.**

 

**They stopped to buy parchment and quills. TJ cheered up a bit when she found a bottle of ink that changed colour as you wrote. When they had left the shop, she said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"**

 

Sirius and Remus shook their heads sadly at that, James would be rolling in his grave at that.

 

**"Blimey, TJ, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know — not knowin' about Quidditch!"**

 

**"Don't make me feel worse," said TJ. She told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.**

 

**"— and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in —"**

 

**"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were — he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles — look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"**

 

**"So what is Quidditch?"**

 

**"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like — like soccer in the Muggle world — everyone follows Quidditch — played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls — sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

 

**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"**

 

**"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but —"**

 

Tonks scowled at that, she would be talking to Hagrid about that latter.

 

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said TJ gloomily.**

 

"I'm sorry Tonks," TJ said seeing the look on her friends face "Hufflepuffs are great, I just didn't hear good things about any house other than Gryffindor at the time." Tonks smiled brightly at that and accepted her apology.

 

**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."**

 

**"Vol-, sorry —You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"**

 

**"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.**

 

**They bought TJ's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag TJ away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**

 

**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**

 

The pranksters laughed at that. "You're amazing TJ!" The twins gasped out through laughter.

 

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."**

 

**Hagrid wouldn't let TJ buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for TJ, TJ herself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

 

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked TJ's list again.**

 

**"Just yer wand left — A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."**

 

**TJ felt herself go red.**

 

**"You don't have to —"**

 

"You're getting spoiled from now on pup." Sirius smiled at this daughter. Noticing she was about to protest Remus interjected

 

"Don't argue cub, we'll just spoil you more." He laughed

 

**"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at**

 

— **an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."**

 

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes and a Large Black snake with purple and scales and bright green eyes that was shrunk. TJ now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing and small snake in her pocket.**

 

“you have a snake?”asked almost everyone but Hermione.

 

TJ reached into her shirt(some men looking away blushing) and pulled out a snake and resized it; it was as long as her arm. It climbed up and across her neck.

 

“thats one of the venomous snakes there is!”shouted Cole

 

“Sooo?! His names Joker” when no one answered her Sirius continued

 

**She couldn't stop stammering her thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.**

 

**"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now — only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."**

 

**A magic wand… this was what TJ had been really looking forward to.**

 

"That was my favorite part too." Smiled Hermione to her girl friend

 

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.**

 

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. TJ felt strangely as though she had entered a very strict library; she swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to her and looked instead at the thousands**

 

**of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of her neck prickled.**

 

**The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**

 

Everyone looked shocked at that, but no more than Snape. Minerva turned to her and with a huge smile said "You're a very powerful witch TJ, probably the most powerful witch of our time."

 

**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. TJ jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and she got quickly off the spindly chair.**

 

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.**

 

**"Hello," said TJ coldly.**

 

**"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Taylor-Jade Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."**

 

Ron looked shocked at that, "How does he remember that miss?"

 

Minerva looked thoughtful for a moment, "I believe a memory charm, and he does love his work and takes pride in Mr. Weasley."

 

**Mr. Ollivanders moved closer to TJ. TJ wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**

 

**"Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."**

 

TJ smiled happily "Just like my daddy in transfiguration!"

 

**Mr. Ollivanders had come so close that he and TJ were almost nose to nose. TJ could see herself reflected in those misty eyes.**

 

**"And that's where…"**

 

**Mr. Ollivanders touched the lightning scar on TJ's forehead with a long, white finger.**

 

Hermione snorted at that, that wouldn't be considered creepy at all.

 

**"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…"**

 

**He shook his head and then, to TJ's relief, spotted Hagrid.**

 

**"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again… Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"**

 

**"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.**

 

**"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.**

 

**"Er — yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.**

 

**"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**

 

**"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly.**

 

"Oh no, of course not." Laughed the twins, they loved Hagrid

 

**TJ noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**

 

"You're really observant TJ." Remarked Tonks

 

**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now — Miss. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"**

 

**"Er — well, I'm right-handed," said TJ.**

 

**"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured TJ from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round her head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Miss. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons.**

 

**No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's or witches wand."**

 

"Why is that?" asked Ginny quietly

 

"The wand chooses the witch or wizard Gin." TJ said with a smile knowing Ginny still didn't feel one hundred percent comfortable around her.

 

**TJ suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between her nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.**

 

**"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Miss. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."**

 

**TJ took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of her hand almost at once.**

 

**"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —"**

 

**TJ tried — but she had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.**

 

**"No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, and try it out."**

 

"How many did you end up trying Potter?" Snape asked

 

TJ thought for a moment, "I don't know, maybe forty-five, he seemed to like a challenge."

 

**TJ tried. And tried. She had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**

 

**"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."**

 

**TJ took the wand. She felt a sudden warmth in her fingers.**

 

**She raised the wand above her head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red, gold, green and silver sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.**

 

**Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…"**

 

Once the excitement of getting the correct wand died down Ron asked "what's curious?"

 

TJ smirked but didn't reply much to his annoyance.

 

**He put TJ's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious… curious…"**

 

**"Sorry," said TJ, "but what's curious?"**

 

**Mr. Ollivander fixed TJ with his pale stare.**

 

**"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Miss. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar."**

 

No one other than Ron seemed to have an issue with this, "What do you mean that's the brother to his wand!"

 

TJ raised an eyebrow at him and asked calmly "Is that a problem Ron? Are you afraid that I'm evil all of a sudden? But then again if I was evil I wouldn't have saved your sister right?"

 

Mrs. Weasley couldn't hold back any longer "There's no need to get snappy TJ, Ron just asked a simple question." It seemed like Sirius and Remus had reached their breaking points also but before they could even say a word Minerva spoke up

 

"TJ is not evil and her wand is very special, no wand is evil but the person who holds it can do evil things with it. Please continue Sirius."

 

Sirius continued in what would have been a calm voice if his teeth weren't clenched together.

 

**TJ swallowed.**

 

**"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you, Miss. Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great."**

 

Before anyone could attack the poor wand maker TJ spoke up "He's admiring the magic behind the things he did, it takes a lot to be able to have that magic ability. Obviously he couldn't handle it."

 

**TJ shivered. She wasn't sure she liked Mr. Ollivander too much. She paid seven gold Galleons for her wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.**

 

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as TJ and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. TJ didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; she didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on TJ's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; TJ only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped her on the shoulder.**

 

**"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.**

 

**He bought TJ a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. TJ kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.**

 

**"You all right, TJ? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.**

 

**TJ wasn't sure she could explain. She'd just had the best birthday of her life — and yet — she chewed her hamburger, trying to find the words.**

 

**"Everyone thinks I'm special," she said at last.**

 

"You are my dear." Murmured Minerva

 

**"All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander… but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry — I mean, the night my parents died."**

 

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.**

 

**"Don' you worry, TJ. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts — I did — still do, 'smatter of fact."**

 

**Hagrid helped TJ on to the train that would take her back to the Dursleys, then handed her an envelope.**

 

**"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September — King's Cross — it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me…. See yeh soon, TJ."**

 

**The train pulled out of the station. TJ wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; she rose in her seat and pressed her nose against the window, but she blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

 

"How did you get onto the train?" Tonks looked a little worried for her

 

TJ smirked at the Weasleys, "I get on just fine, don't worry. How about you read next Ron."

 

Ron shrugged and picked up the book then scowled at her... **"The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters..."**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please review xoxo


	9. Platform 9 and 3/4

**TJ's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun.**

Ron snorted at that, did she ever have fun there?

**True, Dudley was now so scared of TJ, he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut TJ in her cupboard, force her to do anything, or shout at her — in fact, they didn't speak to her at all.**

Tonks looked at her "Wouldn't that be better than shouting?"

TJ shook her head "Not really, they were completely indifferent towards me at that point; they didn't care if I lived or died." Tonks,Harley and Hermione's hair went a mousy brown at that; it wasn't fair TJ couldn't have loving relatives.

**Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with TJ in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while. TJ kept to her room, with her new owl for company. She had decided to call her Hedwig, a name she had found in A History of Magic. Her school books were very interesting.**

Ron, the Twins and Sirius all look scandalized at the thought, while Hermione was positively beaming at that.

**She lay on her bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice. Every night before she went to sleep, TJ ticked off another day on the piece of paper she had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.**

Sirius nodded his head; he had done the same thing, TJ gave him a reassuring hug. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Snape grimace, she felt that maybe he had the same upbringing.

**On the last day of August she thought she'd better speak to her aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day, so she went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. She cleared her throat to let them know she was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room.**

Kingsley snorted at that; if only they knew how powerful TJ actually was they all would have gone running towards the hills.

**"Er — Uncle Vernon?"**

**Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.**

**"Er — I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to — to go to Hogwarts."**

**Uncle Vernon grunted again.**

**"Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?"**

**Grunt. TJ supposed that meant yes.**

"You shouldn't have assumed TJ, what would have happened if that meant no?" Mrs. Weasley frowned

"I would have made an ass out of me and you then I suppose." Laughed TJ, no one other than Molly could hold in their laughter, TJ always did have a sharp tongue.

**"Thank you."**

"You still remain polite? You amaze me kid." Kingsley chuckled

**She was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.**

**"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"**

**TJ knew they were illegal but kept her mouth shut knowing her Uncle didn't care one or the other.**

**"Where is this school, anyway?"**

" **Scotland." Replied TJ a little smug**

**"I have to take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," she read.**

**Her aunt and uncle stared.**

**"Platform what?"**

**"Nine and three-quarters."**

**"Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters."**

"Really?" snarled Remus "We must have been mistaken all these years."

**"It's on my ticket."**

**"Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."**

**"Why are you going to London?" TJ asked, trying to keep things friendly.**

**"Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."**

"Damn" Muttered Tonks "nothing turns a girl on like a pigs tail."

TJ busted out laughing despite Mrs. Weasleys warning glare, she liked Tonks more and more.

**TJ woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep.**

**She got up and pulled on her jeans because she didn't want to walk into the station in her wizard's robes —she'd change on the train. She checked her Hogwarts list yet again to make sure she had everything she needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up.**

**Two hours later, TJ's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to TJ, and they had set off.**

TJ snorted at that, more like bribed him.

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped TJ's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for her.**

Minerva shook his head at that; there must have been a catch in there somehow, she was really regretting leaving TJ there.

**TJ thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.**

**"Well, there you are, girl. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"**

**He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.**

**"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. TJ turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing.**

Everyone looked at the book with hatred in their eyes, Snape was beyond furious at Petunia; she knew how to get onto the platform.

“ **Pricks!” she shouted**

“Taylor-Jade potter language!” shouted Molly

“Fucking make me!” TJ said standing up. Molly drew her wand, but TJ lifted her hand and Molly's wand flew into her hand. Everyone gasped at the wandless and non-verbal magic that even some 7th years can perform, never mind a 6th year. TJ threw it to Bill and told him to keep his mum in control or she wont be held responsible for the outcome. 

**TJ's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was she going to do? She was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. She'd have to ask someone. She stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when TJ couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though TJ was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, TJ asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one.**

**In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. TJ was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, she had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and she had no idea how to do it; she was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk she could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl.**

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell her something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. She wondered if she should get out her wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.**

"You didn't actually do that did you?" snorted Ron

"No I didn't! It was a thought!" snarled TJ, she didn't know what Ron’s problem was lately but judging by the look on Hermione's face she didn't know either.

**At that moment a group of people passed just behind her and she caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**"— packed with Muggles, of course —"**

**TJ swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair.**

**Each of them was pushing a trunk like TJ's in front of him — and they had an owl.**

**Heart hammering, TJ pushed her cart after them. They stopped and so did she, just near enough to hear what they were saying.**

**"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother.**

**"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go…"**

As Ginny blushed fire engine red Sirius turned to Molly "Why ask if you're with them? It seems kind of repetitive if you ask me."

Molly looked very offended at Sirius scolding her on parental styles.

**"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."**

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten.**

**TJ watched, careful not to blink in case she missed it — but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of her and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.**

**"Fred, you next," the plump woman said.**

**"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"**

**"Sorry, George, dear."**

**"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went.**

"It was actually George who said that. Your guys magic has different auras, just slightly but different." TJ said to the shocked people in the room.

**His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone — but how had he done it? Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there — and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere. There was nothing else for it.**

**"Excuse me," TJ said to the plump woman.**

**"Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."**

**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.**

"Thanks for the description TJ, you're so sweet." Snarled a red faced Ron while the twins were on the floor laughing hysterically.

"No problem mate, always here to lift your spirits up." TJ rolled her eyes

**"Yes," said TJ. "The thing is — the thing is, I don't know how to —"**

**"How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and TJ nodded.**

**"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."**

**"Er — okay," said TJ.**

**She pushed her trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid.**

**She started to walk toward it. People jostled her on their way to platforms nine and ten. TJ walked more quickly. She was going to smash right into that barrier and then she'd be in trouble — leaning forward on her cart, she broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — she wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of control — she was a foot away — she closed her eyes ready for the crash — It didn't come… she kept on running… she opened her eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock. TJ looked behind her and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it, she had done it.**

"Good job pup! New you could do it." Chuckled Sirius

"You're hilarious; you should have a microphone in one hand and a brick wall behind you." Joked TJ

**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.**

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. TJ pushed her cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. She passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."**

**"Oh, Neville," she heard the old woman sigh.**

**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.**

**"Give us a look, Lee, go on."**

**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.**

"Whatever happened to that little guy?" Asked George

Fred shook his head "I don't know, he kind of disappeared."

"Joker ate it guys." Laughed TJ at their shocked faces

**TJ pressed on through the crowd until she found an empty compartment near the end of the train. She put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave her trunk toward the train door. She tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice she dropped it painfully on her foot.**

**"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier.**

**"Yes, please," TJ panted.**

**"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"**

**With the twins' help, TJ's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.**

**"Thanks," said TJ, pushing her sweaty hair out of her eyes.**

**"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at TJ's lightning scar.**

**"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you —?"**

**"She is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to TJ.**

**"What?" said TJ.**

**"Taylor-Jade Potter." chorused the twins.**

**TJ grimaced at her given name "Yes I am, but TJ is fine."**

**The two boys gawked at her, and TJ felt herself turning red. Then, to her relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.**

"Sorry TJ." Murmured the twins seeing the looks on Sirius and Remus' faces, it didn't take a genius to figure out they weren't happy.

**"Fred? George? Are you there?"**

**"Coming, Mom."**

**With a last look at TJ, the twins hopped off the train.**

**TJ sat down next to the window where, half hidden, she could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying.**

Sirius and Remus shared a grin at that, their little marauder in training!

**Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.**

**"Ron, you've got something on your nose."**

**The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.**

**"Mom— geroff" He wriggled free.**

**"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.**

**"Shut up," said Ron.**

**"Where's Percy?" said their mother.**

**"He's coming now."**

**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and TJ noticed a red and gold badge on his chest with the letter** **_P_ ** **on it.**

All the Weasley children look disgusted with their brother while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked upset that their son turned his back on them.

**"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —"**

**"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."**

**"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once —"**

**"Or twice —"**

**"A minute —"**

**"All summer —"**

Snape's upper lip curled a little at that though he would never admit to thinking the Weasley twins were funny.

**"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.**

**"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.**

**"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term — send me an owl when you get there."**

TJ couldn't help but snort at how Mrs. Weasley picked favourites with her children, it was going to bite her in the ass one day.

**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.**

**"Now, you two — this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've — you've blown up a toilet or —"**

**"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."**

**"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."**

Remus, Sirius, Tonks and Kingsley laughed at that, once Tonks got her laughing under control she choked out "Never give a prankster an idea Molly."

**"Molly some advice, never give a prankster ideas." Remus said. Molly nodded her head.**

**"It's not funny. And look after Ron."**

**"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."**

**"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.**

**"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"**

**TJ leaned back quickly so they couldn't see her looking.**

**"You know that black-haired girl who was near us in the station? Know who she is?"**

**"Who?"**

**" Taylor-Jade Potter! But she prefers TJ."**

**TJ heard the little girl's voice.**

**"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see her, Mom, eh please…"**

Ginny couldn't stop blushing at that while Hermione looked at her through narrowed eyes, she sounded like a stalker or a junior stalker really.

**"You've already seen her, Ginny, and the poor girl isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is she really, Fred? How do you know?"**

**"Asked her. Saw her scar. It's really there — like lightning."**

**"Poor dear — no wonder she was alone, I wondered. She was ever so polite when she asked how to get onto the platform."**

**"Never mind that, do you think she remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"**

"I'm sure she doesn't." grumbled an irate Kingsley

**Their mother suddenly became very stern.**

Sirius snorted at that, when wasn't she stern.

**"I forbid you to ask her, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though she needs reminding of that on her first day at school."**

**"All right, keep your hair on."**

**A whistle sounded.**

**"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.**

"Do you have to notice everything TJ?" yelled Ginny

TJ looked at her like she was crazy, "It was years ago Ginny, no one cares trust me."

**"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."**

**"We'll send you a Hogwarts' toilet seat."**

**"George!"**

**"Only joking, Mom."**

**The train began to move. TJ saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved. TJ watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. TJ felt a great leap of excitement. She didn't know what she was going to — but it had to be better than what she was leaving behind.**

**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest red headed boy came in.**

**"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite TJ. "Everywhere else is full."**

Kingsley looked a little shocked at that "Was it really all full or did you just want a glimpse of TJ Potter?"

**TJ shook her head and the boy sat down. He glanced at TJ and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. TJ saw he still had a black mark on his nose.**

**"Hey, Ron."**

**The twins were back.**

**"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."**

**"Right," mumbled Ron.**

**"TJ," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."**

**"Bye," said TJ and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.**

**"Are you really TJ Potter?" Ron blurted out.**

**TJ nodded.**

**"Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got — you know…"**

**He pointed at TJ's forehead.**

**TJ pulled back her bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.**

"That was really rude Ron, for once you should have listen to your mother." Sirius said looking at Ron in a new light.

Remus nodded in agreement, "That wasn't the best opener."

Ron blushed profusely at this, he was just a kid, he wasn't like that now...was he?

**"So that's where You-Know-Who —?"**

**"Yes," said TJ, "but I can't remember it."**

**"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.**

**"Well — I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."**

**"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at TJ for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again.**

**"Are all your family wizards?" asked TJ, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.**

Ron looked shocked at that, why would she find him interesting?

**Er — Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."**

**"So you must know loads of magic already."**

**The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.**

**"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"**

**"Horrible — well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. I wouldn't mind having a couple older brothers."**

**"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy.**

**"I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."**

The Weasleys looked at Ron in shocked, he was very important to them, didn't he see that?

**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep. "His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead."**

**Ron's ears went pink.**

**He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window. TJ didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, she'd never had any money in her life until a month ago, and she told Ron so, about not having anything new and never getting anything from her so called family that wasn't considered a necessity. This seemed to cheer Ron up.**

Hermione shook her head sadly at that, Ron was a great friend but he thought about money way too much.

**"… and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a witch or about my parents or Voldemort —"**

**Ron gasped.**

**"What?" said TJ.**

**"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —"**

**"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said TJ, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn… I bet," she added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying her a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."**

Everyone who went to school with or taught TJ laughed at that. TJ was a very intelligent witch, even Snape had to admit that.

**"You won't be. There are loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quickly enough."**

**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"**

**TJ, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to her feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. TJ went out into the corridor. She had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that she had pockets rattling with gold and silver she was ready to buy as many Chocolate Turtles as she could carry — but the woman didn't have any. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things TJ had never seen in her life. Not wanting to miss anything, she got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.**

**Ron stared as TJ it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.**

**"Hungry, are you?"**

**"Starving," said TJ, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.**

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef…"**

Molly had the decency to look sheepish at that "Sorry dear, I'll try and remember."

Ron just waved her off, it wasn't that big of a deal.

**"Swap you for one of these," said TJ, holding up a pasty. "Go on —"**

**"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."**

**"Go on, have a pasty," said TJ, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all TJ's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten).**

**"What are these?" TJ asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs.**

**"They're not really frogs, are they?" She was starting to feel that nothing would surprise her.**

**"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."**

Remus thought for a moment, "I have four of her." Remus scowled at Sirius and Harley both of them muttering something about a chocolate addiction and needing help. Ron looked at Remus with jealousy.

**"What?"**

**"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."**

**TJ unwrapped her Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and moustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.**

**"So this is Dumbledore!" said TJ.**

**"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron.**

**"Ron I was raised by muggles." TJ said slowly, as if talking to a 5 year old. Ron blushed and looked down.**

**"Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —"**

**TJ turned over her card and read:**

**ALBUS DUMBLEDOre**

**CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS**

**Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.**

**TJ turned the card back over and saw, to her astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.**

**"He's gone!"**

**"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron.**

"Pictures don't move in the Muggle world, correct?"

TJ and Hermione looked shocked at Mr. Weasley but nodded their heads.

**"He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her… do you want it? You can start collecting."**

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped. "Help yourself," said TJ. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."**

"Dad and TJ are alike!" smirked the twins

**"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!"**

**TJ stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but TJ couldn't keep her eyes off them. Soon she had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. She finally tore her eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.**

**"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned TJ. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once."**

"I did." Exclaimed George 

**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.**

**"Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts."**

**Every Flavor Beans. TJ got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.**

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.**

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy TJ had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.**

**"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"**

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"**

**"He'll turn up," said TJ with a smile hoping to cheer the boy up.**

**"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…"**

**He left.**

**"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."**

Sirius, Remus, Hermione and TJ scowled at the book. That damn rat caused more problems.

**The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.**

**"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…"**

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.**

**"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —"**

"That's not good Mr. Weasley that can cause problems to your spells." Remarked Minerva to the ever blushing teen.

**He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toad less boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.**

**"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.**

Before Hermione could comment TJ smiled at her "Sorry baby, no one has a good description, if you want I will write a strongly worded letter to the author to say how sexy you are." Hermione couldn't hold back her laughter at her girl-friend.

**"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.**

**"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."**

**She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.**

**"Er — all right."**

**He cleared his throat.**

**"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."**

**He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep. TJ was pretty sure it wasn't a real spell so she just smiled at him.**

Sirius kissed the top of her head, "you're very sweet." He smiled down at her.

**Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it?**

**I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"**

Hermione looked like she wanted to kick herself for acting like that.

“the most gorgeous girl in her Girlfriends world!” shouted TJ

Mione blushed

**She said all this very fast.**

**TJ looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either.**

**"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.**

**"TJ Potter," said TJ.**

**"Are you really?" said Hermione.**

**"I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."**

" **Thanks for that, I had no idea." TJ said with a slight edge to it.**

**"Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Minerva himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.**

**"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.**

Hermione looked upset at that, but Ron being Ron didn't notice. TJ reached over and gave her hand a squeeze letting her know she was there for support.

**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."**

**"What house are your brothers in?" asked TJ.**

**"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."**

**"That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"**

**"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.**

**"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said TJ, trying to take Ron's mind off houses.**

**"So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"**

**TJ was wondering what a witch or wizard did once they'd finished school.**

"The best ones become Auroras." Kingsley said in a hopeful voice that TJ would consider it, they needed someone like her.

**"Plenty of things. But you will find out all this next year." Bill said. TJ smiled at him and nodded.**

**"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Egypt doing something for Gringotts," said Ron.**

**"Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles — someone tried to rob a high security vault."**

**TJ stared.**

**"Really? What happened to them?"**

**"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught.**

**My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."**

"He was." Snarled the golden trio, while Sirius and Remus shared concerned looks. What in the hell happened at that school?

**TJ turned this news over in her mind. She was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. She supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying.**

**"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.**

**"Er — I don't know any." TJ confessed.**

**"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world —" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking TJ through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time. Three boys entered, and TJ recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop.**

**He was looking at TJ with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.**

**"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Taylor-Jade Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"**

**"It's TJ," said TJ. She was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.**

Snape couldn't help but snort at that, that's all they were to his godson.

**"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where TJ was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."**

**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.**

**"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."**

**He turned back to TJ. "You'll soon find out some Wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."**

Tonks looked at Sirius "Can you believe we're related to that git?" Sirius shook his head, it was still a mystery to him after all these years how his cousin could of married that jerk.

**He held out his hand to shake TJ's, but TJ didn't take it.**

**"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," she said coolly.**

**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.**

**"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents.**

Snape growled lowly at that, Lilly didn't deserve death and Potter...well Potter was an idiot but not even he deserved that fate.

TJ curled herself into Sirius and Remus soaking up their comfort, it felt good to have it even if it was years after the fact.

**They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."**

**Both TJ and Ron stood up.**

**Before Ron could say anything TJ looked Malfoy in the eye "Do you want to repeat that? Because I'm certain I didn't hear you correctly."**

**"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.**

**"Unless you get out now," said TJ, more bravely than she felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than her or Ron.**

**"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."**

**Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.**

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle**

"Only good thing that bastard did." Snarled out Sirius, TJ and Remus.

**Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.**

**"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.**

**"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to TJ. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep."**

**And so he had.**

**"You've met Malfoy before?"**

**TJ explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.**

**"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"**

**"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"**

**"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"**

"You do realize TJ is a girl too right? A bad ass one but a girl none the less." Harley smirked

**"All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice.**

**"And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"**

Ron turned a glare on Hermione who stared right back, "What Ron? Like TJ has been saying all along its years ago, no need to cry over spilled milk." Seeing some confused looks she shook her head "Muggle saying."

**Ron glared at her as she left. TJ peered out of the window. It was getting dark. She could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down. She and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them.**

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."**

**TJ's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, she saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor. The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. TJ shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and TJ heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, TJ?"**

TJ smiled at that, Hagrid was such a good friend.

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.**

**"C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"**

**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that TJ thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.**

**"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."**

**There was a loud "Oooooh!"**

**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.**

**"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. TJ and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione.**

**"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!"**

**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.**

TJ and Sirius smiled dreamily at that, it was both of their first homes, it was a magical place and not just for the actual magic held there.

**"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.**

**"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.**

**"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.**

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.**

**"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"**

Minerva smiled at that, Hagrid cared for all the students of Hogwarts.

**Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.**

Sirius placed the book down, "That's the end of that chapter. Who wants to read next."

Remus picked the book up and looked at the next chapter, he was glad the be reading about his cubs sorting, **"The Sorting Hat,"** he said in his normal calm voice...


	10. The Sorting

**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and TJ's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.**

Sirius snorted at that "She's a big softy at heart, the times she let your dad and I off the hook proves that." Remus shook his head fondly at his Friend; he always found humour in any given situation. 

“I heard that Black” said Minnie

**"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.**

**"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."**

**She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.**

Kingsley shook his head at TJ with a small smile on his face, she really was observant.

**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Jasmine could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.**

**"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.**

**The four houses are called**

**Gryffindor,**

"The bravest!" shouted, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, The Twins, Remus, Neville and Sirius

**Hufflepuff,**

"The most loyal!" yelled Tonks

**Ravenclaw,**

"The smartest!" Kingsley and Luna laughed at the death glairs he was receiving.

**and Slytherin.**

"The most cunning!” screamed TJ, Harley, Cole, 

**Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."**

**"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."**

**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose.**

"Two people told you that and yet you haven't done anything about it?" laughed Cole

**TJ pulled her hair into a ponytail out of habit.**

**"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."**

**She left the chamber. TJ swallowed.**

**"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" she asked Ron.**

**"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."**

"I have some advice Ron and I hope you listen, stop taking advice from the twins, they're pranksters." Sighed Sirius

Ron turned red at that, he thought the twins wouldn't lie about that, noticing the look on Ron’s face TJ turned to Sirius "Siri, be nice." Sirius smiled apologetically to Ron while giving TJ's hand a squeeze.

**While she thought Ron should listen to his brothers a lot less than he does, TJ's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test in front of the whole school? TJ had never been so glad for her eidetic memory before.**

Remus stopped reading that and everyone turned to the girl who was trying to hide her face in her godfather's chest.

The twins shared a look before asking "What's an eidetic memory?"

Minerva was the first to get over her shock so she answered in her ever calm voice "TJ has the ability to visualize and reproduce accurately the image of objects or events previously seen or imagined. That also means anything she reads she memorizes and is stored in her mind, that is very interesting gift my dear, very rare."

Remus and Sirius shared proud looks; their Niece/God-daughter was amazing. Remus decided to save TJ more embarrassment continued but if one looked closely had a smug smile on his face.

**She looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was annoyingly whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. TJ tried hard not to listen to her. She'd never been more nervous, never, not even when she'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that she'd somehow turned her teacher's wig blue.**

Everyone laughed at that, she had such fun accidental magic.

**She kept her eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back .Then something happened that made her eyes widen— several people behind her screamed.**

**"What the —?"**

**She blinked.**

Arthur laughed at that, "You don't react normal to anything do you TJ?"

"No, I like to separate myself from the crowd." She chuckled back

**The people around her gasped loudly. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing.**

**What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —"**

**"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?"**

**A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.**

**Nobody answered.**

**"New students!" said the Fat Fryer, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"**

**A few people nodded mutely.**

**"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."**

**"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."**

**Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.**

**"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."**

**Feeling oddly as though her legs had turned to lead, TJ got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind her, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.**

"It's always amazing to see the Great Hall for the first time." Hermione said with a dreamy like quality.

**TJ had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, TJ looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. She heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."**

**TJ already knew this, but it was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.**

"I love your descriptions TJ, they are simply amazing." Remarked Minerva

TJ smiled back, she loved Hogwarts and everything-well maybe not everything-in it.

**TJ quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.**

The twins shared a grin wondering if Professor Dumbledore would mind them borrowing the hat for an hour or a week.

**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, TJ thought amusedly, that seemed the sort of thing— noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, she stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing:**

**"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,**

**But don't judge on what you see,**

**I'll eat myself if you can find**

**A smarter hat than me.**

**You can keep your bowlers black,**

**Your top hats sleek and tall,**

**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat**

**And I can cap them all.**

**There's nothing hidden in your head**

**The Sorting Hat can't see,**

**So try me on and I will tell you**

**Where you ought to be.**

**You might belong in Gryffindor,**

**Where dwell the brave at heart,**

**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry**

**Set Gryffindor's apart;**

**You might belong in Hufflepuff,**

**Where they are just and loyal,**

**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true**

**And unafraid of toil;**

**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,**

**if you've a ready mind,**

**Where those of wit and learning,**

**Will always find their kind;**

**Or perhaps in Slytherin**

**You'll make your real friends,**

**Those cunning folk use any means**

**To achieve their ends.**

**So put me on! Don't be afraid!**

**And don't get in a flap!**

**You're in safe hands (though I have none)**

**For I'm a Thinking Cap!"**

"All our songs were rather depressing, we were at war obviously but when that happens the Hat gives warnings that can be really upsetting especially to first years." Sirius said running a hand through TJ's hair upset that his baby girl would be in the middle of this war much like the last. Remus sighed at that, completely understanding where his friend was coming from,

**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.**

**"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to TJ. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."**

The golden trio hid their snorts of laughter at that, thinking about the troll incident wasn't something they wanted to read about any time soon.

**TJ smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but she did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; TJ didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him.**

**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.**

**"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"**

**A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause —**

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.**

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table TJ saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.**

**"Bones, Susan!"**

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.**

**"Boot, Terry!"**

**"RAVENCLAW!"**

**The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.**

**"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; TJ could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.**

**"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was TJ's imagination, after all she'd heard about Slytherin, but she thought they looked like an unpleasant lot.**

"They really are." Muttered Ron

TJ looked thoughtful for a moment "It's really not their fault though, a lot of their parents were death eaters before they were even born. So to discriminate against them for what their parents have done really isn't fair, there's a Muggle saying "The sins of the father will be brought down upon the children a thousand times over" obviously that's happening right now. Don't give me that look Ron. I like Malfoy because he's changed. Just like I like Harley and Cole cause their my family and Blaise. So Ron act your fucking age not your shoe size for once." TJ closed her eyes and rested her head against her godfathers shoulder ignoring the looks of pure shock from the room,

**"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"**

**"HUFFLEPUFF!"**

**Sometimes, TJ noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide.**

**"Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to TJ in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.**

**"Granger, Hermione!" Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.**

"Excited much?" chuckled Kingsley to the blushing girl

“OI I thought it was cute!” said TJ and kissed Hermione

**"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.**

**Ron groaned.**

**TJ wanted this moment to be over with, she knew everyone would stop and stare much like at the Leaky Cauldron.**

**When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool.**

**When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."**

**Malfoy swaggered**

**“I DON'T SWAGGER!” shouted Draco who just arrived, while Harley and Cole said “yeah sure and I'm a virgin” while everyone laughed at that while Draco blushed and looked away. Severus and Molly were the only ones not laughing but for different reasons; Severus because he had no wish to know about his Children’s sex life and Molly because she thought they were too young.**

****forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"****

**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.**

**There weren't many people left now. "Moon"…,**

**"Nott"… ,**

**"Parkinson"… ,**

**then a pair of twin girls, "Patil"**

**and "Patil"… ,**

**then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… ,**

**"Hufflepuff!"**

**and then, at last —**

**"Potter, Taylor-Jade!"**

**As TJ stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.**

**"Potter, did she say?"**

**"The Taylor-Jade Potter?"**

**The last thing TJ saw before the hat dropped over her eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at her. Next second she was looking at the black inside of the hat. She waited.**

**"Hmm," said a small voice in her ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… So where shall I put you?"**

Minerva looked a little shocked at that, she could have gone anywhere...curious.

**TJ gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin. She knew the house probably wasn't that bad, but the thought of spending more time then necessary with Malfoy made her want to vomit.**

**"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no?**

TJ had already told Hermione during one of their late night talks so she didn't seem fazed, surprisingly no one did. Sirius told her green was her color, Remus said she would brighten up the place and everyone else just smiled at her letting her know it didn't change who she was...except Ron. He looked much like Aunt Petunia when she asked a question, TJ couldn't hold back anymore she got out of the loving arms of her crush and looked at Ron with piercing green eyes that seemed to have gotten a shade darker "You know you have something to say, so why not share with the rest of the class?" snarked TJ

It appeared that was all it took for Ron to snap "Slytherin? Come on TJ! You could have gone into one of the darkest houses there is! That house is filled with death eaters and if you haven't noticed all the death eaters children end up in that house. First we find out you can talk to snakes and now we find out you belonged with the snakes? What's next we find out you actually were the cause of Cedric's death?" Ron knew he went too far, the temperature in the room dropped to the point where Kingsley and Tonks contemplated producing patronesses. But TJ didn't even flinch but you could feel cold fury radiating off her to the point where everyone backed away except Sirius, Remus, Harley, Cole and Hermione who glared daggers at the youngest Weasley son.

"If you ever and I mean ever bring up Cedric like that again Merlin himself won't be able to save your sorry ass. You can attack me all you want but let the dead rest in peace. Do. You. Understand. Me?" TJ said in a deathly calm voice. But it seemed that Ron lost the ability to talk, minutes ticked by with everyone glancing between Ron and TJ when two people cleared their throats. TJ turned back to Ron with the same cold eyes and snarled out "I think we're done with this conversation don't you?" Ron could only nod his head and asked Remus to continue reading, who did but not before glaring at Ron.

**Well, if you're sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!"**

**TJ heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. She took off the hat and walked toward the Gryffindor table. She was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, she hardly noticed that she was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook her hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got her! We got Potter!"**

They decided to lighten the mood by doing it again, Hermione threw a pillow at them to make them stop so they could finish the reading sometime in the near future,

**She could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest her sat Hagrid, who caught her eye and gave her the thumbs up. TJ grinned back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. TJ recognized him at once from the card she'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. TJ spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban.**

**And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined TJ at the Gryffindor table.**

**"Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now.**

**TJ crossed her fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"**

**TJ clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to her.**

**"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Jasmine as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.**

**TJ looked down at her empty gold plate. She had only just realized how hungry she was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago.**

Sirius groaned at the thought of food. "Moooony" he whined but Remus just whacked him before continuing with the reading

**Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.**

**"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!**

"Nice speech professor." Said Charlie who was sitting in an arm chair next to Snape

**"Thank you!"**

**He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. TJ didn't know whether to laugh or not.**

"When it comes to Dumbledore, it's best to laugh kid." Kingsley smiled at the girl.

**"Is he — a bit mad?" she asked Percy uncertainly.**

TJ laughed at her old question "Of course he is."

Mrs. Weasley seemed to have found her voice "That is enough! That was very rude! Apologize to the headmaster!"

Just as TJ was about to defend herself Fred jumped at the chance much to the surprise of Sirius and Remus. "Mom! What in the bloody hell is wrong with you lately? You're acting like you're TJ's mother and last time I checked Lilly had passed on. She has Sirius and Remus and they're doing a great job and if she needs to be scolded they'll do it but not in front of everyone so she'll be embarrassed. You always do that to us and it's not right, leave TJ alone mother." He finished with a glare. No one was sure what was going on with the Weasley family but it was getting pretty weird,

**"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, TJ?"**

**TJ's mouth fell open.**

**The dishes in front of her were now piled with food. She had never seen so many things she liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.**

**The Dursleys had tried starving TJ multiple times as punishment, but she always pulled through somehow, even if she hadn't eaten for days on end.**

Everyone growled at the thought of those bastards. Tonks couldn't wait to get them in prison where they belonged.

**Dudley had always taken anything that TJ really wanted, even if it made him sick. TJ piled her plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious.**

**"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching TJ cut up her steak.**

**"Can't you —?"**

Snape smiled a little at that, that was something Lilly would have asked. He caught TJ staring at him with those damn green eyes and for once didn't try to look away as soon as possible.

**"I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."**

**"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you — you're Nearly Headless Nick!"**

**"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy —" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.**

**"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"**

Hermione and Ginny groaned at that, why did one person always have to ask that.

**Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted.**

**"Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row!**

Sirius and Remus scowled at that, how could Gryffindor let that happen?

**The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost."**

**TJ looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood.**

**He was right next to Malfoy who, TJ was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.**

**"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.**

**"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.**

Charlie noticed Sirius smirking asked "How many times did you ask Sirius?" Sirius looked at him with a calculating look before answering

"Like a million. Don't laugh Moony!" snapped Sirius playfully

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding...** **As TJ helped herself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their friends about their families.**

**"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."**

**The others laughed, but TJ wasn't among those who did. A lot of muggles hated magic and judging by how the Dursleys acted towards her and her mother it was still happening today.**

Snape gave a barely there nod and the reminder of his father.

**"What about you, Neville?" said Ron.**

**"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here — they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad." On TJ's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons("I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult —"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing — "). TJ, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.**

Everyone turned to Snape at that, odd how accurate the description was. While Harley and Cole were trying not not laugh.

**It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into TJ's eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on TJ's forehead.**

Remus looked puzzled by that while Sirius threw a glare at Snape, that jerk better of left his baby alone.

**"Ow!" TJ clapped a hand to her head in surprise more than pain.**

**"What is it?" asked Percy.**

**"N-nothing."**

**The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling TJ had gotten from the teacher's look — a feeling that he didn't like TJ at all.**

Snape rolled his eyes as Sirius looked ready to murder him in cold blood.

**"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" she asked Percy.**

**"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to — everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."**

**TJ watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at her again.**

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.**

**"Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."**

**"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."**

**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.**

Molly looked angry at that but one look around the room told her to be quiet for the time being.

**"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." TJ didn't laugh like the few in the Hall that did, instead she considered that last rule.**

**"He's not serious?" she muttered to Percy.**

**"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere — the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."**

**"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. TJ noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed.**

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.**

**"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"**

**And the school bellowed:**

**"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,**

**Teach us something please,**

**Whether we be old and bald**

**Or young with scabby knees,**

**Our heads could do with filling**

**With some interesting stuff,**

**For now they're bare and full of air,**

**Dead flies and bits of fluff,**

**So teach us things worth knowing,**

**Bring back what we've forgot,**

**just do your best, we'll do the rest,**

**And learn until our brains all rot."**

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march.**

Ginny snorted at her brothers, they were the coolest in her opinion.

**Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.**

**"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"**

**The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. TJ's legs were like lead again, but only because she was so tired and full of food. She was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and TJ was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt. A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him.**

**"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves — show yourself."**

**A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.**

**"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"**

The twins shook their heads at that, Percy was no fun.

**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.**

**"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"**

**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.**

**"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.**

**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed.**

**"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."**

**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.**

"She used to be a lot nicer you know, until she was attacked." Remarked TJ offhandedly. Sirius just laughed and kissed her head.

**"Password?" she said.**

**"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it — Neville needed a leg up — and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.**

"Your common room seems nice," Tonks smiled at the Gryffindors while Kingsley nodded in agreement.

**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase — they were obviously in one of the towers — they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red and purple curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pyjamas and fell into bed.**

**"I can't wait to find out what lessons we have tomorrow." Hermione muttered to TJ through the hangings.**

**TJ was going to ask Hermione why she was so intense all the time but fell asleep once hitting the pillow.**

**Perhaps TJ had eaten a bit too much, because she had a very strange dream. She was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to her, telling her she must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was her destiny. TJ told the turban she didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; she tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully — and then there was a laugh that became high and cold — there was a burst of green light and TJ woke, sweating and shaking.**

Sirius wrapped an arm around her knowing her dreams could go from bad to worse in a second.

**She rolled over and fell asleep again, and when she woke next day, she didn't remember the dream at all.**

Remus set the book down, "Well that's that chapter." He passed the book to Snape, "You'll like this chapter I'm sure." He said with a laugh wrapping an arm around Harley's shoulder.

" **The Potions Master..."** Snape read out in that deadpan voice of his...

 


	11. The Potions Master

**"There, look."**

**"Where?"**

**"Next to the tall kid with the red hair."**

**"Did you see her face?"**

**"Did you see her scar?"**

"That probably got annoying really quick." Bill snorted

Tonks had a faint blush at seeing TJ nod; she had been one of the few to ogle at the poor kids scar.

**Whispers followed TJ from the moment she left her dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at her, or doubled back to pass her in the corridors again, staring.**

**TJ wished they wouldn't, because she was trying to concentrate on finding her way to classes.**

"They should have been helping you not treating you like a sideshow act." TJ smiled sweetly at Sirius and gave him a kiss on the cheek

**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts:**

"You counted?" laughed Ginny

Hermione rolled her eyes "Of course she didn't it's in Hogwarts A History."

**wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. Even with her memory she had trouble keeping track of everything worked within the castle.**

**The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and TJ was sure the coats of armour could walk.**

Just as the twins were about to comment Snape silenced them with a death glare, he needed this chapter over because he knew he was unfair to TJ.

**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class.**

**He would drop waste paper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"**

"Moony taught him that!" Sirius let out a laugh.

Hermione shook her head at her favourite professor, he always did that to her at the worst possible times.

**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. TJ and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning.**

**Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor.**

**He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing.**

"Yeah right, more like making sure it was still there." Muttered Hermione and TJ. Remus looked at his niece questioningly but all he got in return was her patented sweet smile that made people cave at the sight of it.

**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later.**

**Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.**

"I did that a few times, that damn cat always got me into trouble." Seeing their shocked faces Kingsley asked "What? Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Most adults wouldn't admit that." said Snape

“SAME!” shouted TJ “Thought I kicked her in the arse really hard with steel toed boots on haha” 

**And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, everyone quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.**

**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for. Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.**

**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached TJ's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.**

"Charms is one of my best subjects." TJ remarked

Remus smiled at that "It was your mothers' best subject cub." TJ beamed at that, happy that she gained something from her mother.

**Professor McGonagall was again different. TJ had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.**

**"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."**

**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time but even after hearing that TJ was still excited about this class, it seemed like one of the most interesting.**

**After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. TJ had done it instantly, you had to visualize what the needle looked like and you had to remember the feel of the metal in your hand almost.**

Everyone looked at her in complete shock. Minerva cleared her throat "That's very impressive my dear you're a natural much like your father."

TJ smiled at that "Thank you miss, I love that class even though it is easy." Remus and Sirius shared proud looks, that was their Niece/God-child alright.

**Hermione looked a little jealous at first but then gave TJ a small smile.**

**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather;**

Bill and Charlie snorted at that, he seemed like such a good teacher.

**for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.**

TJ and Hermione glared at the book while Ron was still trying to understand what happened in such a short amount of time.

**TJ was very relieved to find out that she wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like her, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start.**

"You thought...you thought you were behind?" Snape asked but it didn't have any hate in it.

"I didn't know I was considered advanced." TJ shrugged like it was no big deal.

**Friday was an important day for TJ and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once. TJ had already knew how to get there but Ron didn't so she insisted he lead them till he didn't get lost.**

The twins smirked at their brother "Congrats! We're beyond proud."

"Boys be nice to your brother." Molly scolded

"Mom they're just having fun, leave them alone for once." Bill said tiredly, his family was falling apart and he had an idea of why.

**"What have we got today?" TJ asked Ron as she poured sugar on her porridge.**

**"Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we'll be able to see if it's true."**

**"Wish McGonagall favored us," said TJ.**

**Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.**

**Just then, the mail arrived. TJ had gotten used to this by now, but it had given her a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps. Hedwig hadn't brought TJ anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble her ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls.**

Remus kissed the top of her head, he would send her something once a day, and she deserved to know she was loved. Almost as if she was reading his mind TJ slipped out of her embrace with Sirius and hugged her dad "Love you dad, a lot." The smile on Remus' face was that of the one he used to wear as a Hogwarts student,

"Love you too cub."

**This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto TJ's plate.**

**TJ tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl:**

**Dear TJ,**

**I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig.**

**Hagrid**

Charlie smiled at that. Hagrid was awesome and he protected TJ even though she would never admit to needing protection of any kind.

**TJ borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled Yes, please, see you later on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again.**

**It was lucky that TJ had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to her so far.**

**At the start-of-term banquet, TJ had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked her. By the end of the first Potions lesson, she knew she'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike TJ**

Everyone's eyebrows went up with this, maybe he let the grudge against her dad and Sirius go.

**he hated her.**

Sirius scowled at that, he had no right to hate her. Remus slipped his hand onto his friends shoulder not wanting to strangle the man sitting across from them.

"Hate is a very strong word Potter." Remarked Snape

TJ sighed at that "I'm aware of that sir that's why I used it." She put her arm back around Hermione and let her snuggle into her.

**Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.**

**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at TJs name.**

**"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Taylor-Jade Potter. Our new — celebrity."**

Everyone glared at him, she obviously hated her fame but he was too stubborn to see that. Snape had the decency to shift a little at that, he knew his anger was wrongly placed but how to fix it after all these years?

**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.**

**"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.**

**"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death— if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."**

"Great speech." Bill commented at Snape's nod he continued "until you called them dunderheads."

**More silence followed this little speech. TJ and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.**

**"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"**

"That's not something a first year would know!" Snapped Tonks but she didn't see the smug look on TJ's face.

" **Drought of the living dead sir." TJ replied immediately**

Tonks looked shocked at that along with some of the others.

**Snape looked shocked so he seemed to try and through her off again.**

**"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"**

**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but**

**"In the stomach of a goat sir." TJ knew he was testing her and trying to make her look like an idiot,** **_well good luck with that_ ** **she thought.**

Hermione laughed at that, proving TJ wrong was always difficult.

**Snape looked like someone had just slapped him.**

**"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"**

**"There the same thing sir."**

**"Well at least someone from Gryffindor knows something Snape sneered "And a point will be given Gryffindor House" He said reluctantly.**

The twins looked shocked at that "We actually got a point?" they muttered to each other, they never thought they would live to see the day.

**But things got worse for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.**

**"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"**

**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.**

**"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on TJ and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.**

**"You — Potter — why didn't you tell him not to add the quills?**

"Because it wasn't her damn potion Snape!" Sirius couldn't hold back anymore "How dare you treat my girl like that, she isn't James and she isn't me!"

"Shut up mutt! I am the teacher and I can do what I like in my class." Snarled Snape.

Noticing they weren't going to back down any time soon Kingsley looked at both of them "Look we need to finish these books; we can talk about these things after this chapter. Okay?" Snape and Sirius reluctantly nodded

**Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's two points you've lost for Gryffindor."**

**That was complete bullshit just as TJ opened her mouth to argue, but Ron kicked her behind their cauldron.**

**"Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty."**

**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, TJ's mind was racing and her spirits were low. She'd lost two points for Gryffindor in her very first week**

— **why did Snape hate her so much?**

Sirius glared at Snape it was a wonder he wasn't in flames.

**"Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"**

"Nice change of topic Ron." Smirked Remus

**At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.**

**When TJ knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang —back."**

**Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.**

**"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang."**

**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boar hound.**

**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling; a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.**

**"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.**

"Watch out for the ones with cute names." Advice TJ with a smile trying to lighten the mood.

**"This is Ron," TJ told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.**

**"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles.**

**"I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."**

"What were you doing near the forest!" screeched Molly

"Growing flowers what else?" this surprisingly came from Snape; he couldn't handle that woman a moment longer.

**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but TJ and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons.**

**Fang rested his head on TJ's knee and drooled all over her robes.**

**TJ and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git."**

**"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it."**

**TJ told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told TJ not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.**

**"But he seemed to really hate me."**

**"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?"**

**Yet TJ couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet her eyes when he said that.**

**"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot — great with animals."**

**TJ wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, TJ picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet:**

**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST**

**_Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day._ **

**_"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokes goblin this afternoon._ **

Bill laughed at that "Goblins are very territorial, they don't like when we get into their business."

**TJ remembered Ron telling her on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date.**

**"Hagrid!" said TJ, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"**

**There was no doubt about it; Hagrid definitely didn't meet TJ's eyes this time. He grunted and offered her another rock cake. TJ read the story again. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?**

**As TJ and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse,**

**TJ thought that none of the lessons she'd had so far had given her as much to think about as tea with Hagrid.**

Hermione looked at her with a questioningly look.

"I have an eidetic memory Mio; I didn't have to review my lessons right away." TJ laughed at the blush her lover was sporting.

**Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell TJ?**

Snape set the book down "That's the end; I'm not reading again either."

He passed it to Kingsley. 


	12. Lunch

_ **Lunch** _

 

As Molly went to make lunch, TJ and Hermione went to their room not noticing the two pairs of eyes following them.

 

_ **TJ's Room** _

 

Once through the door TJ grabbed Hermione and pulled her to the bed made Hermione straddle her. TJ started to tease her by kissing and nipping at Mia's neck and moving her hand to cup her 34C breasts and pulling off her Black top. Mia was moaning so loud they didn't notice 2 people peak their heads in. TJ moved her right hand to Mia's jean covered pussy and rubbed it while kissing her hungrily. Hermione's moans were getting louder as she rubbed herself into TJ's hand,

“mmm...Baby more Please”Mia gasped/Moaned

“Do you you like baby?”

“Yes!-” she was about to say something else when someone cleared their throat. Both girls turned to see Sirius and Remus standing at the door, both jaws-dropped,

“one word... wow”said Sirius. Hermione finally realized that she was still topless and put her top back on. They got up and went back down stairs and had lunch. Through out lunch Sirius kept throwing lustful glances at TJ and Hermione. After lunch we sat back down

“ **The Midnight Duel** ” said Kingsley   


	13. The Midnight Duel

“ **Chapter Nine: The Midnight Duel** ” Kingsley read.  
  
 **TJ had never believed he would meet a boy sshe hated more than Dudley, but that was before she met Draco Malfoy. Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan.**  
 **Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday -- and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.**  
  
There was a collective groan around the room and Neville winced as he remembered that day.  
  
 **"Typical," said TJ darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."**  
 **He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.**  
 **"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself,"**  
  
“Yeah I wouldn’t worry about that so much TJ,” George said.  
  
 **said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."**  
 **Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams**    
“Hmm,” the twins mused while staring at TJ who chuckled.  
  
 **and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.**  
  
“He probably doesn’t even know what a helicopter is,” Hermione said.  
  
 **He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom.**  
  
“Oh really now Ron?” Fred said in a patronizing tone. “And when was this?”  
  
“Shut up,” Ron said, his ears going red.  
  
 **Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly.**  
  
“It is fun to watch,” TJ admitted. “I caught a few games on the Dursley’s television.”  
  
“My parents took me to see a match once,” Hermione added, “And it really was a lot of fun.”

 

“Really maybe I'll take you to one on a date. Would do you think babe?” said TJ

 

“I'd love to Puddin!” she squealed them crashed her lips to TJ's. 

 

“Awwe” said most of the girls(b.Ginny)  
  
“Yeah whatever,” Ron grumbled.  
  
 **TJ had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move.**  
 **Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, TJ felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.**  
  
“Sorry Neville,” TJ apologized.  
  
“S’all right TJ. It’s true anyway,” Neville waved it away good naturedly.  
  
 **Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book -- not that she hadn't tried.**  
  
Hermione blushed deeply as people turned to her with amused expressions.  
  
 **At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages. Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but**  
 **everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail.**  
 **TJ hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.**  
  
“Git.” Ginny remarked.  


“OI leave him alone!” said TJ, Hermione, Harley and Cole

  
 **A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.**  
 **"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red -- oh..." His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "You've forgotten something..."**  
  
“But that doesn’t tell you what you’ve forgotten!” Ginny said as though it was the easiest thing in the world.  
  
 **Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.**  
 **TJ and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school,**  
  
“That’s true,” nearly everyone in the room agreed.  
  
 **was there in a flash.**  
 **"What's going on?"**  
 **"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."**  
 **Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table.**  
 **"Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.**  
  
“Suure you were,” the twins dragged out.  
  
 **At three-thirty that afternoon, TJ, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.**  
  
“As Oliver would say, Perfect conditions,” Fred said in his best Wood impression, which was quite accurate.  
  
 **The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. TJ had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.**  
  
 **Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.**  
 **"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."**  
 **TJ glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.**  
  
“One of the better ones actually,” TJ mused.  
  
“Now that’s just sad,” Fred said.  
  
 **"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!"'**  
 **"UP! everyone shouted.**  
 **TJ's broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid,**  
  
 **thought TJ; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.**  
 **Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. TJ and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.**  
 **"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three -- two --"**  
 **But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.**  
 **"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle -- twelve feet -- twenty feet. TJ saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and --**  
 **WHAM -- a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap.**  
  
People winced in sympathy, especially those that had been there.  
  
 **His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.**  
  
“Another one bites the dust.” George sighed.  
  
Hermione and TJ looked at each other before beginning to hum quietly.  
  
“Err what are you humming?” Fred asked.  
  
“Muggle song.” They answered.  
  
 **Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.**  
 **"Broken wrist," TJ heard her mutter. "Come on, boy -- it's all right, up you get.".**  
 **She turned to the rest of the class.**  
 **"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."**  
 **Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.**  
 **No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.**  
 **"Did you see his face, the great lump?"**  
  
“Git.” Several people around the room stated, other glared at the book.  
  
 **The other Slytherins joined in.**  
 **"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.**  
 **"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."**  
 **"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."**  
 **The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.**  
 **"Give that here, Malfoy," said TJ quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.**  
 **Malfoy smiled nastily.**  
 **"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find -- how about -- up a tree?"**  
 **"Give it here!" TJ yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"**  
  
“Now he’s done it!” Fred and George sang.  
  
 **TJ grabbed her broom.**  
 **"No!" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move -- you'll get us all into trouble."**  
 **TJ ignored her.**  
  
“A totally random occurrence,” Hermione grumbled.  
  
 **Blood was pounding in her ears.**  
  
“And that would be James’s impulsiveness.” Remus commented, TJ grinned at the mention of her father.  
  
 **He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him -and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught -- this was easy, this was wonderful. He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.**  
 **He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned.**  
 **"Give it here," TJ called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"**  
 **"Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried.**  
 **TJ knew, somehow, what to do.**  
  
“Natural born Quidditch player!” Fred, George, and Ron all yelled.  
  
 **He leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfay like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; TJ made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.**  
  
“I actually saw one of the Slytherins smiling,” Hermione stated.  
  
 _Theodore Nott,_ Snape mused. _He would be the only Slytherin happy to see Malfoy taken down a peg or two._  
  
 **"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," TJ called.**  
 **The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy.**  
 **"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground.**  
 **TJ saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down -- next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball -- wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching -- he stretched out his hand -- a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.**  
  
  
 **"TJ POTTER!"**  
 **Her heart sank faster than he'd jusst dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them. She got to his feet, trembling.**  
 **"Never -- in all my time at Hogwarts --"**  
 **Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock,**  
  
“Actually it was amazement,” said Professor admitted.  
  
 **and her glasses flashed furiously, "-- how dare you -- might have broken your neck --"**  
 **"It wasn't his fault, Professor --"**  
 **"Be quiet, Miss Patil**  
 **"But Malfoy --"**  
 **"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."**  
  
“I didn’t want to hear why you did it, otherwise I would have changed my mind,” McGonagall told TJ.  
  
 **TJ caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as she left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, she just knew it. He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes.**  
  
“Or not,” Ron smirked.  
  
 **What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep?**  
 **Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with TJ trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.**  
  
“You really are dramatic mate,” Ron said shaking his head.  
  
 **Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.**  
 **"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"**  
 **Wood? thought TJ, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?**  
  
“What?” McGonagall gasped. “I would never!”  
  
“Habbit sorry”

  
 **But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick’s class looking confused.**  
 **"Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at TJ.**  
 **"In here."**  
 **Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.**  
 **"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing.**  
  
“Using some words that he was taught by a certain group of students,” she said glaring at Remus who raised his hands in self-defense.  
  
“How was I supposed to know he’d be using them twenty years later?” He protested  
  
TJ covered her smile with her hand as Kingsley continued to read.  
  
 **Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.**  
 **"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood -- I've found you a Seeker." Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.**  
 **"Are you serious, Professor?"**  
 **"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"**  
 **TJ nodded silently. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs.**  
 **"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."**  
  
 **Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.**  
 **"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly.**  
 **"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.**  
 **"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around TJ and staring at him. "Light -- speedy -- we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor -- a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."**  
  
“Get the Nimbus TJ!” George urged.  
  
“Hmm I don’t know…” TJ pretended to think about it.  
  
 **“** **I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks...."**  
  
“Favouritism,” Snape said softly but not soft enough to avoid a stern look.  
  
 **Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at TJ.**  
 **"I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you."**  
 **Then she suddenly smiled.**  
 **"Your father would have been proud," she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."**  
  
 **"You're joking."**  
  
TJ shook her head in confusion. “I didn’t say that.”  
  
“New section,” Remus explained.  
  
 **It was dinnertime. TJ had just finished telling Ron what had happened when she'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.**  
 **"Seeker?" he said. "But first years never -- you must be the youngest house player in about-**  
  
“A century!” Nearly everyone in the hall completed.  
  
 **“** **\- a century, said TJ, shoveling pie into her mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."**  
 **Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at TJ.**  
 **"I start training next week," said TJ. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."**  
  
“Which means the whole school will know,” TJ said.  
  
 **Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted TJ, and hurried over.**  
 **"Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too -- Beaters."**  
 **"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, TJ, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."**  
  
“Now there’s an interesting picture,” TJ said and everyone laughed at the thought of Oliver Wood skipping.  
  
 **"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."**  
 **"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."**  
  
Remus raised an eyebrow slightly but didn’t comment. If they found that one in their first week when it took the Marauders several months…maybe they had a little help…  
  
 **Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.**  
 **"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"**  
 **"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said TJ coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.**  
  
“Isnt that all they ever do?” Ron wondered.  
  
 **"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only -- no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"**  
 **"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm her second, who's yours?"**  
 **Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.**  
 **"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."**  
 **When Malfoy had gone, Ron and TJ looked at each other.**  
 **"What is a wizard's duel?" said TJ. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"**  
 **"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually,**  
“Well done Ron,” Fred said.  
  
“Yeah, way to worry him,” George continued.  
  
 **getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on TJ's face, she added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."**  
 **"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"**  
  
“Punch him?” The twins suggested.  
  
 **"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.**  
  
“We agree.”  
  
 **"Excuse me."**  
 **They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger.**  
 **"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.**  
 **Hermione ignored him and spoke to TJ.**  
 **"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying --"**  
 **"Bet you could," Ron muttered.**  
  
“Ow! Come on Hermione are you going to hit me until this is over?” Ron complained.  
  
“If that’s what it takes,” she responded.  
  
 **"--and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."**  
 **"And it's really none of your business," said TJ.**  
 **"Good-bye," said Ron.**  
  
 **All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, TJ thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing). Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them."**  
  
“I know Hermione!” Ron said quickly as Hermione opened her mouth.  
  
 **There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and TJ felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Malfoy’s sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness - this was his big chance to beat Malfoy**  
 **face-to-face. She couldn't miss it.**  
  
“Again with the impulsiveness…though that might be more like Sirius…” Remus mused quietly to TJ.  
  
 **"Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go."**  
 **They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, TJ."**  
  
“Guess who?” The twins sang and Hermione blushed.  
  
 **A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown.**  
 **"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"**  
 **"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy -- he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."**  
 **TJ couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering. '** ** _Though she is cute when shes angry' She thought_**

 

**“Awww puddin!” Mia sqeaked**

  
**"Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.**  
 **Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.**  
  
“Ow!” Both Ron and TJ got hit that time.  
  
 **"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."**  
  
“Impressive,” Remus said, complimenting her and causing her to blush.  
  
 **"Go away."**  
 **"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so --"**  
  
“Pig headed?” Ginny suggested and Hermione shook her head.  
  
“I think I was going to say idiotic,”  
  
 **But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower.**  
 **"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.**  
 **"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we’re going to be late."**  
 **They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them.**  
 **"I'm coming with you," she said.**  
 **"You are not."**  
 **"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."**  
 **"You've got some nerve --" said Ron loudly.**  
  
“Actually, I probably would have backed her up,” TJ admitted. “It would have been our fault if she got in trouble.”  
  
 **"Shut up, both of you!" said TJ sharply. I heard something."**  
 **It was a sort of snuffling.**  
 **"Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.**  
 **It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer.**  
 **"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."**  
 **"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."**  
 **"How's your arm?" said TJ.**  
 **"Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."**  
  
“But she kept me there for the whole afternoon,” he complained.  
  
“She does that,” Both TJ and Remus said.  
  
 **"Good - well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later --"**  
 **"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."**  
 **Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville.**  
 **"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you.**  
 **Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies,**  
  
“That’s not what I was going to say!” Hermione protested.  
  
 **but TJ hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.**  
 **They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn TJ expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room.**  
 **Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. TJ took out her wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once.**  
  
“Good idea TJ,” Luna suddenly said.  
  
 **The minutes crept by.**  
 **"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.**  
 **Then a noise in the next room made them jump. TJ had only just raised her wand when they heard someone speak -and it wasn't Malfoy.**  
  
“Let me guess, Filch?” Ginny asked rhetorically.  
  
“Wait and see,” TJ replied anyway.  
  
 **"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."**  
 **It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, TJ waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.**  
 **"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."**  
 **"This way!" TJ mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run -he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor.**  
  
“Oops,” Neville said sheepishly.  
  
 **The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.**  
 **"RUN!" TJ yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following -- they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, TJ in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going -- they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.**  
  
“You must have really been running,” Ginny said thoughtfully.  
  
 **"I think we've lost him," TJ panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.**  
 **“** **I -- told -you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I -- told -- you."**  
  
“Not exactly the best time for an ‘I told you so’ ‘Mione,” Ron pointed out teasingly.  
  
 **"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."**  
 **"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to TJ. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you -- Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."**  
 **TJ thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.**  
  
“Of course not.”  
  
 **"Let's go."**  
 **It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them.**  
 **It was Peeves. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.**  
 **"Shut up, Peeves -- please -- you'll get us thrown out."**  
  
“He doesn’t care,” The twins and Remus said.  
  
 **Peeves cackled.**  
 **"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."**  
 **"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."**  
 **"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."**  
 **"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves**  
  
“Not smart,” Fred and George said wisely.  
  
 **this was a big mistake.**  
 **"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR"**  
 **Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door -- and it was locked.**  
 **"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"**  
  
“And you accuse me of being dramatic?” TJ teased and Ron blushed.  
  
 **They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.**  
 **"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed TJ's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, 'Alohomora!"**  
 **The lock clicked and the door swung open -- they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.**  
  
“Wait a moment,” Remus said, putting the book down. “Weren’t you…?”  
  
“Keep reading,” TJ said.  
  
 **"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."**  
 **"Say 'please."'**  
 **"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?"**  
 **"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.**  
  
Fred shook his head. “Triple negatives…easiest trick in the book.”  
  
 **"All right -please."**  
 **"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.**  
 **"He thinks this door is locked," TJ whispered. "I think we'll be okay -- get off, Neville!" For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of TJ's bathrobe for the last minute. "What?"**  
 **TJ turned around -- and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, she was sure she'd walked into a nightmare -- this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.**  
 **They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor.**  
  
Several of the teachers groaned. So that was how the whole mess got started!  
  
 **And now they knew why it was forbidden.**  
 **They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.**  
  
“Why is there a Cerebus in a school?” Remus asked calmly,   
  
“Read and find out?” TJ offered.  
  
 **It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and TJ knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.**  
 **TJ groped for the doorknob -- between Filch and death, she'd take Filch.**  
  
“I dunno, Filch can be pretty nasty,” Fred mused.  
  
 **They fell backward -- TJ slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared -- all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.**  
 **"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.**  
 **"Never mind that -- pig snout, pig snout," panted TJ, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs.**  
 **It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.**  
  
“Not true.” Neville said, just to prove the point.  
  
 **"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."**  
  
“Really Ron?” George sighed. “That’s the best you could come up with?”  
  
 **Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?”**  
 **"The floor?" TJ suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."**  
 **"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."**  
 **She stood up, glaring at them.**  
 **“** **I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed -- or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."**  
  
“Priorities Hermione, priorities,” Fred tsked.  
  
“I know that now!” She protested.  
  
 **Ron stared after her, his mouth open.**  
 **"No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?”**  
 **But Hermione had given TJ something else to think about as she climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something.... What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide -- except perhaps Hogwarts.**  
 **It looked as though TJ had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.**  
  
“Of course you had,” Remus said with a sigh. 

 

“Well that’s the end of that chapter.”said Kingsley  
  
“Can I read next Kingsley?” Neville asked.  
  
“Of course you can Neville,” Kingsley answered as he levitated the book over.


End file.
